Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.
Luis Valero Aguayo1, Félix Hurtado Melero2 and Aurora Gavino Lázaro1
Background:Many explanatory models of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) support the idea that compulsive behaviours are an attempt to avoid an aversive situation. There are few experimental studies carried out on the onset of repetitive behaviours. This study tries to create a repetitive checking behaviour as an analogue explaining similar OCD behaviours. Method: An inter-group design with 3 levels of aversion (minimal, progressive and maximum) in a visuo-spatial reasoning task was used. 48 university students without OCD problems (mean= 23 years old) were the participants, randomly distributed in 16 per group. Checking frequency (semi-hidden chronometer) for each task was measured and the questionnaires TONI-2, STAI, MOCI and YBOCS-SR were applied. Results: Participants with a minimal or maximum level difficulty showed a significantly higher level of checking behaviour than those in the progressive difficulty. The differences occurred between the minimal and the progressive group, and between the minimal and maximum difficulty. There were no differences in any other variable. Conclusion: In this analogue, the continuous checking of a chronometer was reinforced by the elimination of boring tasks. The momentary escape from an aversive situation explains the checking behaviour. This study could be an experimental analogue of checking behaviour, showing its avoidance function.
Un análisis experimental de la comprobación obsesivo-compulsiva como conducta de evitación. Antecedentes: múltiples modelos explicativos sobre los trastornos obsesivo compulsivos (TOC) apoyan la idea de que las conductas compulsivas son un intento de eliminar una situación aversiva. Hay pocos estudios experimentales sobre cómo aparecen las conductas repetitivas. Este estudio intenta crear una conducta de comprobación repetitiva como un análogo que podría explicar conductas TOC similares. Método: se ha utilizado un diseño entregrupos con 3 niveles de aversión (mínimo, progresivo y máximo) en una tarea de razonamiento viso-espacial. Han participado 48 estudiantes universitarios sin problemas TOC (media= 23 años), aleatorizados 16 por grupo. Se ha medido la frecuencia de comprobaciones (cronómetro semioculto) en cada tarea y se aplicaron los cuestionarios TONI-2, STAI, MOCI y YBOCS-SR. Resultados: los participantes con dificultad mínima o máxima mostraron significativamente más respuestas de comprobación que el grupo de dificultad progresiva. Las diferencias ocurrieron entre el grupo con tarea de dificultad mínima y progresiva, y mínima frente a máxima. No hubo diferencias en ninguna de las otras variables. Conclusiones: en este análogo la comprobación continua se vería reforzada negativamente al aliviar una tarea monótona, el propio escape momentáneo explicaría la comprobación. Este estudio podría ser un análogo experimental de que las conductas de comprobación tienen una función de evitación.
SPANISH
ENGLISH
https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2013.11