MEMORY IN SUBCLINICAL OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE CHECKERS

In a series of experiments we extended the research on possible memory deficits in subclinical obsessive-compulsive Ss who reported excessiv e checking. Using a variety of memory tests we compared 20 subclinical checkers to 20 Ss without obsessive-compulsive symptomatology. Contra ry to hypothesis, checkers remembered self-generated words better than read words just as much as did normals, but they were more likely tha n normals to report thinking they had studied words that, in fact, had not been on the study list. Further, they more often confused whether they read or generated the words at study. Checkers did not appear to perseverate on already-recalled words on repeated free recall tests a ny more than did normals. However, checkers remembered fewer actions o verall and more often misremembered whether they had performed, observ ed, or written these actions. Such memory deficits may contribute to t he development of excessive checking.