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Consistent with the action identification theory proposal that some people identify their actions at a low-level (action processing regarding motor parameters) while others generally identify actions at a high-level (regarding goal features), and that a low-level of action identification leads to behavioral dysregulation (repetition, doubts about completion), checking proneness was found to be related to low-level action identification. Nevertheless, checking can be motivated by several factors (dysfunctional beliefs, incompleteness feelings). In the present research, we reexamine the level at which actions are identified by distinct subtypes of checking-prone participants. In Study 1, cluster analysis leads to the identification of four checking subtypes based on two dysfunctional beliefs domains (responsibility and perfectionism); our main results suggest that a low-level of action identification may characterize a checking subtype that is not motivated by responsibility related dysfunctional beliefs. Study 2 further reveals that anxiety features may characterize the checking subtype related to a low-level action identification.

The present article reviews the phenomenology of obsessive-compulsive checking, examining how action processing can be differentially affected across distinct checking subtypes. Checking is a normal phenomenon which ensures that an intended goal has been actually completed. Checking symptoms have consistently been connected to impairments in processing information related to self-performances. Theoretical and empirical work has explained compulsive checking as a result of various cognitive deficits related to action processing (e.g., low confidence in cognitive abilities, impaired memory for actions, abnormal reality monitoring, overactive action monitoring, defective goal processing). Such apparent inconsistencies are, however, in agreement with clinical and empirical observations highlighting substantial variability in the subjective experience preceding/accompanying checking. Many factors can in fact prevent the cognitive system from determining whether or not an intended goal has actually been achieved. We argue that several action processing mechanisms are likely affected in checking; the related subjective experience may vary accordingly.

Perception results from a combination of actual data and interpretive schemata based on preexisting knowledge. Thus, ensuing subjective experience depends on the dynamic interplay between data-driven and conceptually driven processing. A chronic imbalance between these two sources of stimulus encoding is likely to be maladaptive and could underlie cognitive and behavioral disturbances similar to those observed in schizotypy, especially if the balance is tipped too far toward conceptually driven processing (i.e., Internal encoding style). This study aimed to examine the relationships between encoding style and various dimensions of schizotypy by using a questionnaire that evaluates the extent to which preexisting schemata (versus cues from the outside world) affect encoding processes. Consistent with previous findings, the authors' results revealed that both Cognitive-Perceptual and Disorganization dimensions were related to an internal mode of encoding, suggesting that individuals with these features may be characterized by a disposition to biases at early stages of encoding.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is, as its name implies, characterized by obsessions (i.e., recurrent thoughts or images, particularly ones that cause distress) as well as compulsions (i.e., urges to perform mental or physical acts repeatedly), both of which significantly impair everyday functioning [1]. Obsessions are considered to be recurrent distressing impressions that something is wrong with an action or with a situation, such as an error or an imminent danger [2, 3, 4]. Compulsions are generally conceptualized as aiming to prevent feared harmful events and are thus associated with an increased sense of responsibility [5, 6]. However, they may also be motivated by particular sensory experiences concerning actions, such as feelings of incompleteness, that trigger the need to adjust them, rather than the avoidance of potential harm [7].