Repeated checking really does cause memory distrust

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2005.02.005

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Volume 44, Issue 2, February 2006, Pages 305-316

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.02.005 Get rights and content

Abstract

Memory phenomena associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have received increased attention in the recent literature. Some debate remains about whether OCD is characterized by deficits in memory per se, or by poor memory confidence. Following from a recent study that demonstrated memory distrust results from repeated checking of a virtual computerized stove, we asked 50 undergraduate students to repeatedly turn on, turn off and check either a real kitchen stove (relevant checking) or a real kitchen faucet (irrelevant checking) in a standardized, ritualized manner. All participants completed a final check of the stove following these 19 checking trials. Results indicated that following repeated relevant checking, participants reported significantly reduced memory confidence, vividness and detail. Repeated irrelevant checking did not produce these decreases. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive-behavioural formulations of OCD and in terms of the effects of repetition on memory and metamemory.

Section snippets

Measures

Participants completed the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (VOCI: Thordarson et al., 2004), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI: Beck & Steer, 1990), and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI: Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1996). All of these measures have been shown to have acceptable psychometric properties.

Memory accuracy: At both pre- and post-tests (see below) participants were given a diagram showing the six knobs on the stove. They were asked to mark three X's to indicate which three

Results

Mean comparisons of the scores on the questionnaires revealed no significant differences between conditions (all p's>.05), indicating acceptable random assignment. The questionnaires were therefore not included in the analyses as covariates. Means for the questionnaires, including the VOCI checking subscale, are included in Table 1. Finally, there were no significant differences in age or gender across groups.

Discussion

The results of the current investigation demonstrate that repeated relevant checking does indeed lead to memory distrust. That is, when participants were asked to repeatedly check a stove, their memory confidence, vividness and detail significantly declined both compared to pre-test scores following only one check of the stove, and compared to a group of participants who were asked to engage in repeated irrelevant checking of a kitchen faucet. These results are consistent with the findings of

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Sarah Brown Tesolin for her help with participant scheduling and laboratory coordination and to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. Portions of this data were presented at the 2003 Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy conference in Boston, MA and at the 2004 European Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies conference in Manchester, UK. This study was supported by a research operating Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering

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Rachman (2002) proposed a reciprocal detrimental relationship between repeated checking and memory confidence. Many experimental studies have indicated that repeated checking causes memory confidence deterioration while having no or little impact on memory accuracy. Thus, our main objective was to carry out a comprehensive meta-analysis to synthesize the existing research. Investigating the potential heterogeneity across studies using several moderator variables was also of interest.
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& Methods: In 191 university students, we tested the hypothesized model that objectively-measured sleep debt and self-report sleep disturbances would relate to memory complaints and an elevated level of anxiety, which would in turn be associated with increased checking behaviours, using structural equation modelling path analysis.
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The cognitive model of compulsive checking (Rachman, 2002) proposes that perceptions of responsibility, seriousness of harm and probability of harm interact to promote checking behaviour. We examined these factors in an ecologically valid experimental paradigm. Two groups of participants (participants with OCD who compulsively check and undergraduate controls) were assigned to a high or low responsibility condition, and then checked objects representing: (a) high seriousness of harm (stove burners), (b) low seriousness of harm (light bulbs), (c) high probability of harm (functional burners and bulbs), and (d) low probability of harm (non-functional burners and bulbs). In general, a diagnosis of OCD, as well as conditions of increased severity/likelihood of harm, and to a lesser degree, increased responsibility, led to a greater period of time spent checking. Implications for the cognitive-behavioural model of and treatment for compulsive checking are discussed.

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Shorter communicationRepeated checking really does cause memory distrust

Abstract

Section snippets

Measures

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Clinical Psychology Review

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Shorter communication
Repeated checking really does cause memory distrust