How checking as a cognitive style influences working memory performance

Abstract

Compulsive checking is known to influence memory, yet there is little consideration of checking as a cognitive style within the typical population. We employed a working memory task where letters had to be remembered in their locations. The key experimental manipulation was to induce repeated checking after encoding by asking about a stimulus that had not been presented. We recorded the effect that such misleading probes had on a subsequent memory test. Participants drawn from the typical population but who scored highly on a checking-scale had poorer memory and less confidence than low scoring individuals. While thoroughness is regarded as a quality, our results indicate that a cognitive style that favours repeated checking does not always lead to the best performance as it can undermine the authenticity of memory traces. This may affect various aspects of everyday life including the work environment and we discuss its implications and possible counter-measures.

Deficient Inhibition of Return in Subclinical Ocd Only When Attention Is Directed to the Threatening Aspects of a Stimulus

“…[2][3][4][5] Another possible limitation of the present study was that in using a subclinical group this raises the issue of their relevance as an analogue to a clinical group. As we have argued in our recent research on WM impairments in subclinical checkers, deficits in attentional selection and suppression could be the essential factors for episodic memories being affected in the short and long term.…”

“…[47] This suggests that contrary to the checkers' intuition, a relaxing, nonchecking attentional focus actually improves memory performance particularly when combined with reduced attention to intrusive thoughts. Taking all these consideration into account, we propose that training of exogenous as well as endogenous selective attention within the wider context of WM processing, aiming to specifically attenuate repetitive checking of WM contents [2][3][4][5] may be most effective for improving a wider range of OCD symptoms in the long term. Wells [41] proposed an attention-based intervention specific to the intrusive thinking of OCD.…”

“…Alternatively, considering the specificity of our IOR group effects in Task 2, it is possible that the effectiveness of ATT could have been enhanced by tailoring the attentional aspects of the intervention to the symptoms of specific subgroups (i.e., "ON" states for checkers) or individual patients (i.e., ideographic selection). Taking all these consideration into account, we propose that training of exogenous as well as endogenous selective attention within the wider context of WM processing, aiming to specifically attenuate repetitive checking of WM contents [2][3][4][5] may be most effective for improving a wider range of OCD symptoms in the long term.…”

“…First, in an extensive review of memory and attention in OCD, Muller and Roberts [10] highlighted that OCD is a heterogeneous disorder comprised of multiple subtypes each with their own unique psychological markers [i.e., checkers versus washers; see [30] ]. [3,5] Suggesting that in the correct experimental circumstances high checkers' attention can be distracted from the primary memory task. For example, Amir et al [32] highlighted that high scoring OCD participants had an attentional bias to ideographically selected-therein threatening-word stimuli (versus neutral words) and that this bias correlated with symptom severity.…”

“…Second, in our previous work on working memory (WM) deficits in high checkers, we revealed that fragile multimodal integration of stimulus identity and-location was most susceptible to distraction. [3,5] Suggesting that in the correct experimental circumstances high checkers' attention can be distracted from the primary memory task. Finally, using ecologically valid images, we showed that high checkers had a specific memory impairment for a threatening feature of checking specific stimuli [see Task 2 [4] ].…”