Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a debilitating anxiety disorder often characterised by recurring and anxiety-provoking intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive physical or mental acts that the individual feels compelled to perform to relieve anxiety (compulsions). Although research has not discovered why OCD develops in some individuals, different theories about intrusive thoughts and attention have been proposed; yet, relatively little research has been done on attention in OCD and the few studies that exist have shown conflicting results. This study thus aims to answer three key questions. First, do individuals with OCD actually notice anxiety-provoking threat cues more easily than individuals without OCD? Second, are intrusive thoughts triggered by this heightened sensitivity to threat cues? Lastly, are anxiety-provoking stimuli more real to the participants if they appear as words or as pictures? These questions will be answered by comparing reaction times in an experimental task and asking participants to monitor their thoughts. The findings of this study could have very real health implications in a number of different areas. The results may answer fundamental questions about how OCD develops and can affect how researchers understand or study OCD, attention, and intrusive thoughts. More practically, these findings can inform treatment options: individuals with OCD may improve if trained to reduce these attentional biases or the links that connect threat cues with intrusive thoughts. As well, intrusive thoughts are seen in other disorders, such as Major Depressive Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; this research might therefore affect therapy and studies in these related disorders as well. All in all, this study will target an understudied area of research. The implications of the study's findings will be significant both in theoretical understanding and practical applications.