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Looking for Outcomes: The Experience of Control and Sense of Agency in Obsessive-compulsive Behaviors

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Neuropsychology of the Sense of Agency

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is, as its name implies, characterized by obsessions (i.e., recurrent thoughts or images, particularly ones that cause distress) as well as compulsions (i.e., urges to perform mental or physical acts repeatedly), both of which significantly impair everyday functioning [1]. Obsessions are considered to be recurrent distressing impressions that something is wrong with an action or with a situation, such as an error or an imminent danger [2–4]. Compulsions are generally conceptualized as aiming to prevent feared harmful events and are thus associated with an increased sense of responsibility [5, 6]. However, they may also be motivated by particular sensory experiences concerning actions, such as feelings of incompleteness, that trigger the need to adjust them, rather than the avoidance of potential harm [7].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cognitive Science, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Sanaâ Belayachi & Martial Van der Linden

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  1. Sanaâ Belayachi
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  2. Martial Van der Linden
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  1. Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Balconi Michela

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Belayachi, S., Van der Linden, M. (2010). Looking for Outcomes: The Experience of Control and Sense of Agency in Obsessive-compulsive Behaviors. In: Michela, B. (eds) Neuropsychology of the Sense of Agency. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-1587-6_9

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