Frank Tallis

Beliefs about the consequences of worrying

The present study explored the range of beliefs that individuals have about the consequences of worrying. Study 1 used a factor-analytic method to categorize these consequences and revealed five theoretically coherent factors—three representing negative consequences, and two representing positive consequences. The negative consequences corresponded to worry disrupting effective performance, worry exaggerating the problem, and worry causing emotional distress. The positive consequences were the motivational influence of worry and worry helping analytical thinking. Study 2 compared scores on the five consequences of worrying subscales with other measures of psychopathology and psychological health. As expected, scores on the three negative-consequences subscales correlated highly with a range of measures of psychopathology. In addition, positive consequences were also significantly associated with a number of measures indicating poor psychological outcomes, and subjects who held both negative and positive beliefs about the consequences of worrying scored significantly higher on a variety of psychopathology measures than subjects who held just negative beliefs. This latter finding is consistent with accounts which suggest that pathological worrying may be maintained by dysfunctional beliefs about the positive consequences of worrying.

Obsessive compulsive disorder, checking, and non-verbal memory: a neuropsychological investigation

There is considerable evidence in the literature for the presence of non-verbal and praxic memory deficits in OCD. Such deficits may represent the cognitive substrate of doubt-related phenomenon such as checking. Neuropsychological tests of non-verbal memory functioning and memory for actions were administered to patients with OCD (whose predominant symptom was checking) and a group of matched healthy controls. Significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups, suggesting some memory impairment in the OCD group; however, no significant relationship was found linking neuropsychological test indices with checking. Significant relationships were found linking recognition memory problems and immediate memory for actions with general symptom severity.

Compulsive washing in the absence of phobic and illness anxiety

A new typology of washing compulsions has been proposed: those that arise from a sense of dirtiness, those that arise from a sense of mental pollution, and finally, those that arise from a fear of illness. A case series is reported suggesting that a further class of washing behaviour can be described attributable to the personality trait of perfectionism.

Obsessive-Compulsive Hoarding: A Cognitive-Behavioural Approach

Obsessive-compulsive hoarding can be viewed within personality, neuroethological and cognitive-behavioural frameworks. Three cases of obsessive-compulsive hoarding are described in detail. All cases had some insight (albeit fluctuating) into their problem and were seeking treatment. There was evidence of abnormal risk assessment, fear of criticism, excessive guilt, overconscientiousness and inflated responsibility. Depression, emotional or material deprivation and significant loss during childhood and adolescence were experienced by all cases. The cases are considered to be consistent with a cognitive-behavioural model of obsessive-compulsive disorder emphasizing the importance of learning and cognition. Implications for treatment are discussed.

UCS inflation in the aetiology of a variety of anxiety disorders: some case histories.

This paper reports a number of case histories which illustrate the involvement of UCS inflation processes in the aetiology of a variety of anxiety disorders including agoraphobia, simple phobia, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder. These cases are discussed in the context of: (i) renewed interest in cognitive features of conditioning models of anxiety disorders; and (ii) the implications that such models might have for an understanding of the aetiology and treatment of anxiety-based disorders.

Obsessions, responsibility and guilt: two case reports suggesting a common and specific aetiology

Inflated responsibility, guilt and the psychological fusion of thought and action feature prominently in contemporary accounts of obsessional phenomena. Two cases are reported in which the presence of these features can be explained by a specific formative learning experience. Some implications for therapy are considered.

Investigation into the relationship between personality traits and OCD

In the light of recent research suggesting that obsessive-compulsive disorder is more likely to be associated with constellations of personality traits other than obsessive-compulsive personality traits, the present study was undertaken to explore this relationship further and to remove the possibly confounding effects of general pathology, anxiety and depression. By using a non-clinical sample and partialling out the effects of anxiety and depression, it was found, contrary to recent research, that specific obsessional symptoms were only related to the traits of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Information-processing, storage characteristics and worry.

Eysenck (1984, Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 22, 545-548) suggested that storage characteristics may be an important determinant of worry, and postulated that prolonged worry occurs in individuals who have tightly organised clusters of worry-related information stored in long-term memory. These clusters reflect areas or domains of worry. Because the information is stored in tight clusters, it becomes more accessible, more rapidly activated and therefore retrieved more quickly. The Worry Domains Questionnaire (WDQ) (Tallis, 1991c) is used to determine which domain worried subjects most (Primary) and least (Secondary). Two experiments are reported using a word allocation task, which requires subjects to make categorical decisions, based on these worry domains. It is reported that priming facilitates the emergence of domain effects, thus providing support for a structural hypothesis. High worries take longer to reject negative words if they are from the Primary domain and have difficulty rejecting Primary domain words when they are under a congruent heading. In addition, high worriers are reported to show retarded latencies when attempting to process ambiguous information, consistent with Metzger et al.s studies (1990, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 48, 76-88). It is suggested that the initiation and maintenance of worry is largely attributable to an elevated evidence requirement and this may link to the personality trait of perfectionism.

Does rapid eye movement desensitization facilitate emotional processing

Recent years have seen considerable interest in rapid eye movement desensitization (REMD), a novel procedure for the treatment of traumatic memories and related conditions. REM is usually administered as a component of a broader therapeutic procedure, now termed eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). On the basis of previous and largely uncontrolled work, it is not clear to what degree therapeutic gains can be attributed exclusively to REMD. Following exposure to a contrived trauma, Ss were allocated to one of three conditions: REMD; slow eye movement desensitization (SEMD); and stationary-imagery (SI; i.e. no eye movement). Emotional processing was significantly impaired in the REMD group compared to the SEMD and SI groups. No significant differences were found between the SEMD and SI groups.

Investigation into the relationship between personality traits and OCD : a replication employing a clinical population

The relationship between obsessional personality traits and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has long been the subject of debate. Although clinicians have asserted for nearly a hundred years that such a relationship exists, empirical investigations have failed to provide consistent support; however, none of these empirical investigations have undertaken analyses that control for the effect of mood variables. Employing a non-clinical sample, Rosen and Tallis (1995) [Behaviour, Research and Therapy, 4, 445-450] found that when mood variables are taken into account, a unique relationship between obsessional traits and obsessional symptoms emerges. A replication was undertaken on a large group of individuals with OCD. After the effects of depression and anxiety were removed from a correlational analysis, obsessional symptoms were found to be significantly associated with obsessional and passive aggressive traits. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder was not associated with any other grouping of traits as specified in the DSM-III-R (Axis II) classification system.