Experimental use of self-affirmation to manage self-concept threat in a simulated intrusive thought paradigm

Introduction: Based on the commonality in cognitive clinical theories of OCD and cognitive dissonance theory regarding threat to self (Wright & Riskind, 2021), this preliminary study investigated whether (1) OCD-related distress catalyzed by ego-dystonic intrusive unwanted thoughts is akin to cognitive dissonance, and (2) distress and negative appraisals of the simulated intrusive thoughts can be alleviated by a values-based self-affirmation exercise developed in the dissonance literature. Methods: Nonclinical college students (N = 93) were presented with a simulated intrusive thought induction. After rating their distress from writing the simulated intrusion, they were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: neutralization used in the clinical literature, a values-based self-affirmation task, a combination of neutralization followed by self-affirmation, or a control condition. Results: The results revealed that the group that combined a neutralizing exercise followed by a self-affirmation exercise displayed a significantly greater decrease in dissonance-like distress and negative appraisals of the simulated intrusion than the other three groups. The groups that received self-affirmation alone or neutralization alone did not appear to reduce distress on their own. The combined group and other groups did not show rebound distress. Discussion: These novel analogue study findings help to bring cognitive clinical models of OCD and cognitive dissonance theory closer together. Moreover, they introduce the possibility that self-affirmation procedures could provide useful secondary ways to augment current OCD treatment protocols.