Boldt Annika, Fox Celine Ann, Gillan Claire M, Gilbert Sam
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Elife. 2025 May 29;13:RP98114. doi: 10.7554/eLife.98114.
In the current study, we explored the behavioural and cognitive correlates of the transdiagnostic trait 'compulsive behaviour and intrusive thought' (CIT) in humans. CIT is associated with impaired metacognition, which in turn has been associated with cognitive offloading behaviours such as external reminder setting that play a key role in fulfilling cognitive goals. In an online study (=600), we investigated individual differences in compulsivity, metacognition, and external reminder usage. Compulsive individuals had reduced preference for external reminders. This was partially, but not fully, attributable to their relative overconfidence. In contrast to previous studies, we found no evidence for an impaired confidence-action link: compulsive individuals used their metacognition to guide offloading just as much as their non-compulsive counterparts. Given the compensatory nature of cognitive offloading, our findings imply that compulsive individuals are at increased risk of inadequate external memory support. Along with transdiagnostic variation in the general population, this finding could also have implications for clinical conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
在当前的研究中，我们探究了人类中跨诊断特质“强迫行为与侵入性思维”（CIT）的行为和认知相关性。CIT与元认知受损有关，而元认知受损又与诸如设置外部提醒等认知卸载行为有关，这些行为在实现认知目标中起着关键作用。在一项在线研究（n = 600）中，我们调查了强迫性、元认知和外部提醒使用方面的个体差异。强迫性个体对外部提醒的偏好降低。这部分但并非完全归因于他们相对过度自信。与先前的研究不同，我们没有发现信心 - 行动联系受损的证据：强迫性个体与非强迫性个体一样，利用他们的元认知来指导卸载。鉴于认知卸载的补偿性质，我们的研究结果表明，强迫性个体外部记忆支持不足的风险增加。连同一般人群中的跨诊断差异，这一发现也可能对临床病症，如强迫症（OCD）有影响。
