Threats to moral self-perceptions trigger obsessive compulsive contamination-related behavioral tendencies

Background and objectives: Obsessive compulsive (OC) phenomena such as contamination fears may lead to significant impairment in daily functioning. In this research, we examined whether threat to moral self-perceptions can trigger contamination-related behavioral tendencies. Method: Three experiments examined the influence of subtle priming of morality-related information on contamination-related behavioral tendencies. Results: Subtle suggestions of incompetence in the morality self-domain led to heightened OC-related behavioral tendencies. These effects were specific to self-relevant (versus other-relevant), negative (versus positive) information about the morality domain (versus a morality-irrelevant domain). Findings were not related to pre-existing variations in self-esteem, stress, anxiety, or depression, and were not explained by mood fluctuations. Limitations: Our studies were conducted with non-clinical samples. Conclusions: Self-sensitivities in the moral domain may be causally linked with contamination-related concerns. Treatments addressing such sensitivities may prove useful when treating obsessive compulsive phenomena.