Journal
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 5, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00204
Keywords
OCD; control; illusion of control; compulsivity; anxiety disorders
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Funding
- Medical Research Council [G1000183B, G1000183, G0001354B, G0001354] Funding Source: researchfish
- MRC [G1000183] Funding Source: UKRI
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There is disagreement regarding the role of perceived control in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The present study used a traditional illusion of control paradigm (Alloy and Abramson, 1979) to empirically test control estimation in OCD. Twenty-six OCD patients and 26 matched comparison subjects completed an illusion of control task wherein their goal was to attempt to exert control over a light bulb. The density of reinforcement (high, low) and the valence of trials (gain, loss) were experimentally manipulated within subjects. Unbeknownst to participants, the illumination of the light bulb was predetermined and irrespective of their behavior. OCD patients exhibited lower estimates of control compared with healthy comparison subjects. There were no interactions between group and outcome density or group and valence. We found that OCD patients endorse lower estimates of control than comparison subjects. This finding highlights a potential role for contingency learning in the disorder.
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