S. Rachman

Obsessional-compulsive complaints.

Abstract A simple questionnaire was developed as an instrument for assessing the existence and extent of different obsessional-compulsive complaints. Two major types of complaint, checking and washing compulsions, and two minor types, slowness and doubting, were established. The final form of the questionnaire, and major properties, are presented.

The conditioning theory of fearacquisition: A critical examination

Abstract The conditioning theory of fear-acquisition is outlined and the supporting evidence and arguments presented. It is argued that the theory lacks comprehensiveness and is also inadequate in other respects. Six arguments against acceptance of the theory are advanced. People fail to acquire fears in what are theoretically fear-evoking situations (e.g. air raids). It is difficult to produce conditioned fear reactions in human subjects in the laboratory. The theory rests on the untenable equipotentiality premise. The distribution of human fears is not consistent with the theory. Many phobic patients recount histories inconsistent with the theory. Lastly, fears can be acquired indirectly, contrary to the demands of the conditioning theory. It is suggested that fears can be acquired by three pathways: conditioning, vicarious exposures and by the transmission of information and instruction. Vicarious and informational transmission of fears can take place in the absence of direct contact with the fear stimuli.

A cognitive theory of obsessions

It is proposed that obsessions are caused by catastrophic misinterpretations of the significance of ones thoughts (images, impulses). The obsessions persist as long as these misinterpretations continue and diminish when the misinterpretations are weakened. Evidence and arguments in support of the theory are presented, and the questions of vulnerability and the origins of the thoughts are addressed. A firmly focused treatment strategy is deduced from the theory.

Perceived responsibility and compulsive checking: An experimental analysis

An experiment was carried out on 30 Ss who qualified for the DSM-IIIR diagnosis of OCD in order to test the hypothesis, derived from cognitive theory, that changes in perceived responsibility are followed by corresponding changes in the urge to check compulsively. The manipulation succeeded in increasing/decreasing perceived responsibility, as required for the experiment. Decreased responsibility was followed by significant declines in discomfort and in the urge to carry out the compulsive checking. Increased responsibility was followed by corresponding increases in discomfort and urges, but these failed to reach a statistically significant level. Additionally, two types of OCD-related cognitive biases were encountered.

Neo-conditioning and the classical theory of fear acquisition☆

Abstract The strengths and weaknesses of the classical theory of fear acquisition are set out and then reconsidered in light of the radical revision of conditioning theory. It now appears that conditioning can take place even when the CS and UCS are not contiguous. Hence, most of the objections to the classical theory, based on the assumption that conditioning requires contiguity of CS and UCS, can be removed. The implications of the neo-conditioning perspective are considered, and it is argued that the considerable advantages of the new view are however qualified because of an absence of limits. Unqualified acceptance of a neo-conditioning explanation of fear acquisition would lead us to expect far more fear than is observed. It is concluded that conditioning is best construed as one of three pathways to fear.

Studies in desensitization—I: The separate effects of relaxation and desensitization

Abstract The purpose of the study was to investigate the separate effects of desensitization and relaxation in Wolpes technique of “systematic desensitization”. Four small groups of spider-phobic, normal subjects were allocated to the following treatments: desensitization with relaxation, desensitization without relaxation, relaxation only, no-treatment controls. The effects of treatment were assessed by subjective reports, avoidance tests and fear estimates. Marked reductions in fear were obtained only in the desensitization-with-relaxation group and it was concluded that the combined effects of relaxation and desensitization are greater than their separate effects.

The passing of the two-stage theory of fear and avoidance: fresh possibilities.

Abstract The two-stage theory of fear and avoidance is summarized and its relation to the two-factor theory of learning is noted. The major critical arguments and evidence are presented to show why the two-stage theory is inadequate. Some of the theoretical and clinical consequences of this conclusion, are presented and evaluated.

MEMORY FOR PAIN

&NA; Memory for head pain was assessed by means of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ). Sixteen neurosurgical patients were divided into two groups in order to examine the decay of memory over time; one group recalled pain after 5 days and the other recalled pain after one day and then again, after 5 days. Contrary to expectations, the recall of pain was surprisingly accurate. The memory for pain showed little decay over time. The small subgroup of patients who made specific errors when recalling their pain comprised women who had high levels of pain and affect at the initial assessment. Overall, the findings provide some welcome reassurance about the accuracy and reliability of pain reports from memory.

The treatment of chronic obsessive-compulsive neurosis

Abstract In 10 patients with chronic obsessive-compulsive neurosis a controlled study was made of the efficacy of 2 behavioural treatments—modelling and flooding. Both treatments produced significantly more improvement than did relaxation control treatment. Modelling and flooding did not differ significantly from one another in their effects. Improvement has persisted so far to 3 months followup.

Memory bias in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

There is a memory bias associated with depression, and good reason to expect a memory bias associated with anxiety. However, the results of studies reported to date have been ambiguous. Accordingly, an experiment was conducted to assess memory for contamination in people with different types of anxiety. Memory for contaminated stimuli among participants who met DSM-IV criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and indicated a fear of contamination (n = 10) was compared to memory in a group of anxious controls (n = 10), and in undergraduate students (n = 20). Participants were shown 50 objects, 25 of which were contaminated by the experimenter and 25 which were touched but not contaminated. They then completed a neuropsychological memory assessment, after which the participants were asked to recall all of the objects touched by the experimenter. They were then asked to approach each object and to rate their anxiety about touching it. Finally, participants were asked about their perceptions of the cleanliness of each object. The OCD group had better memory for contaminated objects than for clean ones. Neither control group showed such a bias. Neuropsychological test scores indicated that this bias is not the result of differences in general memory ability. The results are discussed in terms of the memory-deficit theory of OCD and of behavioural and cognitive approaches to understanding the role of information processing in fear and anxiety.