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An Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Negative Mood on the Deployment of As-Many-As-Can Checking Stop Rules and Compulsions

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Abstract

The present study examined the causal effect of negative mood on the deployment of as-many-as-can (AMAC) checking stop rules and compulsions. Participants underwent a negative or positive mood induction and subsequently completed self-report measures of AMAC checking stop rules and compulsions. The negative mood group scored significantly higher on both measures. As hypothesised, the direct causal effect of negative mood on compulsions was fully mediated by AMAC stop rules, with negative mood having a significant indirect effect on compulsions through AMAC stop rules. However, an alternative mediation model also showed that the direct causal effect of negative mood on AMAC stop rules was fully mediated by compulsions, with negative mood having a significant indirect effect on AMAC stop rules through compulsions. The implications of these findings for the understanding of the relationships between negative mood, AMAC stop rules and clinically relevant perseverative behaviours is discussed.

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Author notes

  1. Gary I. Britton

    Present address: University of West London, Boston Manor Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9GA, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RH, UK

    Gary I. Britton & Graham C. L. Davey

Authors
  1. Gary I. Britton
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  2. Graham C. L. Davey
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Contributions

Both authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Gary Britton. The first draft, and the revised draft, of the manuscript was written by Gary Britton, and both authors worked on previous versions of the manuscript. Both authors have approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gary I. Britton.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Britton, G.I., Davey, G.C.L. An Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Negative Mood on the Deployment of As-Many-As-Can Checking Stop Rules and Compulsions. J Cogn Ther 15, 153–167 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-022-00134-0

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