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Psychology

<OpenstaxParagraph>
	People with <OpenstaxTerm>obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)</OpenstaxTerm> experience thoughts and urges that are intrusive and unwanted (obsessions) and/or the need to engage in repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions). A person with this disorder might, for example, spend hours each day washing his hands or constantly checking and rechecking to make sure that a stove, faucet, or light has been turned off. 
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Obsessions are more than just unwanted thoughts that seem to randomly jump into our head from time to time, such as recalling an insensitive remark a coworker made recently, and they are more significant than day-to-day worries we might have, such as justifiable concerns about being laid off from a job. Rather, obsessions are characterized as persistent, unintentional, and unwanted thoughts and urges that are highly intrusive, unpleasant, and distressing (APA, 2013). Common <OpenstaxTerm>obsessions</OpenstaxTerm> include concerns about germs and contamination, doubts (“Did I turn the water off?”), order and symmetry (“I need all the spoons in the tray to be arranged a certain way”), and urges that are aggressive or lustful. Usually, the person knows that such thoughts and urges are irrational and thus tries to suppress or ignore them, but has an extremely difficult time doing so. These obsessive symptoms sometimes overlap, such that someone might have both contamination and aggressive obsessions (Abramowitz &amp; Siqueland, 2013). 
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Compulsions are repetitive and ritualistic acts that are typically carried out primarily as a means to minimize the distress that obsessions trigger or to reduce the likelihood of a feared event (APA, 2013). <OpenstaxTerm>Compulsions</OpenstaxTerm> often include such behaviors as repeated and extensive hand washing, cleaning, checking (e.g., that a door is locked), and ordering (e.g., lining up all the pencils in a particular way), and they also include such mental acts as counting, praying, or reciting something to oneself (<a href="#Figure_15_05_OCD">Figure 15.11</a>). Compulsions characteristic of OCD are not performed out of pleasure, nor are they connected in a realistic way to the source of the distress or feared event. Approximately 2.3% of the U.S. population will experience OCD in their lifetime (Ruscio, Stein, Chiu, &amp; Kessler, 2010) and, if left untreated, OCD tends to be a chronic condition creating lifelong interpersonal and psychological problems (Norberg, Calamari, Cohen, &amp; Riemann, 2008). 
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxFigure id="Figure_15_05_OCD" src="https://openstax.org/apps/archive/20240226.174525/resources/026fdbb7bd7791a86cbf8b884346f3e39bed836a" alt="Photo A shows a person washing his or her hands. Photo B shows a person placing a key into the keyhole on a door." mediaType="image/jpeg" width="649" height="263" />
<OpenstaxFigureText width="649">
	<strong>Figure 15.11</strong> (a) Repetitive hand washing and (b) checking (e.g., that a door is locked) are common compulsions among those with obsessive-compulsive disorder. (credit a: modification of work by the USDA; credit b: modification of work by Bradley Gordon)
</OpenstaxFigureText>

15.5.1 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

1 Introduction to Psychology

1.1 What Is Psychology?

1.1.1 Why Study Psychology?

1.2 History of Psychology

1.2.1 Wundt and Structuralism

1.2.2 Functionalism

1.2.3 Freud and Psychoanalytic Theory

1.2.4 Wertheimer, Koffka, Köhler, and Gestalt Psychology

1.2.5 Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, and Behaviorism

1.2.6 Maslow, Rogers, and Humanism

1.2.7 The Cognitive Revolution

1.2.8 Multicultural And Cross-Cultural Psychology

1.2.9 Women in Psychology

1.3 Contemporary Psychology

1.3.1 Biopsychology and Evolutionary Psychology

1.3.2 Sensation and Perception

1.3.3 Cognitive Psychology

1.3.4 Developmental Psychology

1.3.5 Personality Psychology

1.3.6 Social Psychology

1.3.7 Industrial-Organizational Psychology

1.3.8 Health Psychology

1.3.9 Sport and Exercise Psychology

1.3.10 Clinical Psychology

1.3.11 Forensic Psychology

1.4 Careers in Psychology

1.4.1 Other Careers in Academic Settings

1.4.2 Career Options Outside of Academic Settings

2 Psychological Research

2.1 Why Is Research Important?

2.1.1 Use of Research Information

2.1.2 NOTABLE RESEARCHERS

2.1.3 The Process of Scientific Research

2.2 Approaches to Research

2.2.1 Clinical or Case Studies

2.2.2 Naturalistic Observation

2.2.3 Surveys

2.2.4 Archival Research

2.2.5 Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Research

2.3 Analyzing Findings

2.3.1 Correlational Research

2.3.2 Causality: Conducting Experiments and Using the Data

2.3.3 Reliability and Validity

2.4 Ethics

2.4.1 Research Involving Human Participants

2.4.2 Research Involving Animal Subjects

3 Biopsychology

3.1 Human Genetics

3.1.1 Genetic Variation

3.1.2 Gene-Environment Interactions

3.2 Cells of the Nervous System

3.2.1 Neuron Structure

3.2.2 Neuronal Communication

3.2.3 Neurotransmitters and Drugs

3.3 Parts of the Nervous System

3.3.1 Peripheral Nervous System

3.4 The Brain and Spinal Cord

3.4.1 The Spinal Cord

3.4.2 The Two Hemispheres

3.4.3 Forebrain Structures

3.4.4 Midbrain and Hindbrain Structures

3.4.5 Brain Imaging

3.5 The Endocrine System

3.5.1 Major Glands

4 States of Consciousness

4.1 What Is Consciousness?

4.1.1 Biological Rhythms

4.1.2 Problems With Circadian Rhythms

4.2 Sleep and Why We Sleep

4.2.1 What is Sleep?

4.2.2 Why Do We Sleep?

4.3 Stages of Sleep

4.3.1 NREM Stages of Sleep

4.3.2 REM Sleep

4.4 Sleep Problems and Disorders

4.4.1 Insomnia

4.4.2 Parasomnias

4.4.3 Sleep Apnea

4.4.4 Narcolepsy

4.5 Substance Use and Abuse

4.5.1 Substance Use Disorders

4.5.2 Drug Categories

4.6 Other States of Consciousness

4.6.1 Hypnosis

4.6.2 Meditation

5 Sensation and Perception

5.1 Sensation versus Perception

5.1.1 Sensation

5.1.2 Perception

5.2 Waves and Wavelengths

5.2.1 Amplitude and Wavelength

5.2.2 Light Waves

5.2.3 Sound Waves

5.3 Vision

5.3.1 Anatomy of the Visual System

5.3.2 Color and Depth Perception

5.4 Hearing

5.4.1 Anatomy of the Auditory System

5.4.2 Pitch Perception