Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorMorein-Zamir, Sharon
dc.contributor.authorShahper, Sonia
dc.contributor.authorFineberg, Naomi
dc.contributor.authorEisele, Verena
dc.contributor.authorEagle, Dawn M.
dc.contributor.authorUrcelay, Gonzalo
dc.contributor.authorRobbins, Trevor W.
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-09T14:06:00Z
dc.date.available2019-05-09T14:06:00Z
dc.date.issued2018-10-01
dc.identifier.citationMorein-Zamir , S , Shahper , S , Fineberg , N , Eisele , V , Eagle , D M , Urcelay , G & Robbins , T W 2018 , ' Free operant observing in humans : A translational approach to compulsive certainty seeking ' , Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology , vol. 71 , no. 10 , pp. 2052-2069 . https://doi.org/10.1177/1747021817737727
dc.identifier.issn1747-0218
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2299/21317
dc.description© Experimental Psychology Society 2017
dc.description.abstractExcessive checking is reported in non-clinical populations and is a pervasive symptom in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). We implemented a free-operant task in humans, previously used in rats, wherein participants can “check” to reduce uncertainty. Participants can press an observing key to ascertain which of two main keys will, if pressed, currently lead to rewards. Over a series of experiments, we found that punishment robustly increased observing in non-clinical participants and that observing persisted long after punishment was removed. Moreover, participants appeared insensitive to the initial costs of checking, and a threefold increase in the effort required to observe served to deter participants only to a limited degree. We also assessed observing in OCD patients with no known comorbidities. The patients observed more than control participants and were abnormally insensitive to the introduction of punishment. These findings support the translational value of the task, with similar behaviours in humans and rodents. This paradigm may serve as a unifying platform, promoting interaction between different approaches to analyse adaptive and maladaptive certainty seeking behaviours. Specifically, we demonstrate how seemingly disparate theoretical and empirical approaches can be reconciled synergistically to promote a combined behavioural and cognitive account of certainty seeking.en
dc.format.extent18
dc.format.extent441513
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofQuarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
dc.subjectChecking
dc.subjectIntolerance of uncertainty
dc.subjectObserving
dc.subjectObsessive compulsive disorder
dc.subjectPhysiology
dc.subjectNeuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
dc.subjectExperimental and Cognitive Psychology
dc.subjectGeneral Psychology
dc.subjectPhysiology (medical)
dc.titleFree operant observing in humans : A translational approach to compulsive certainty seekingen
dc.contributor.institutionDepartment of Clinical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
dc.contributor.institutionCentre for Health Services and Clinical Research
dc.contributor.institutionSchool of Life and Medical Sciences
dc.description.statusPeer reviewed
dc.identifier.urlhttp://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85054739532&partnerID=8YFLogxK
rioxxterms.versionofrecord10.1177/1747021817737727
rioxxterms.typeJournal Article/Review
herts.preservation.rarelyaccessedtrue


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record