ORIGINAL ARTICLE Subtle Threats to Moral Self-Perceptions Trigger Obsessive–Compulsive Related Cognitions Amitai Abramovitch • Guy Doron • Dar Sar-El • Erin Altenburger Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013 Abstract Obsessive–compulsive (OC) symptoms are often associated with cognitive biases and can cause sig- nificant distress and impairment in daily functioning. In this study, we examine whether threat to moral self-per- ceptions can trigger cognitive biases linked with obses- sive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Participants were 124 non-clinical adults randomized to four conditions (nega- tive-morality, negative-sports, positive-morality, and posi- tive-sports) of the Subtle Priming Computerized Task. To examine the influence of subtle priming of morality-related information on OCD-related cognitive biases, participants completed the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire-20 (OBQ- 20). Participants also completed the obsessive–compulsive inventory-revised, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and the Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale as baseline measures. Results revealed that subtle suggestions of incompetence in the morality self-domain were associated with stronger activation of OCD-related cognitive biases as measured by the OBQ-20. These effects were specific to negative information about the morality self-domain. Findings were not related to pre-existing variations in OC symptom lev- els, self-esteem, stress, anxiety, or depression. We suggest that self-sensitivities in the morality self-domain may be linked with the activation of cognitive biases related to OCD. Future research should explore these self-sensitivi- ties in a clinical sample to further substantiate this phenomenon. Keywords OCD Á Self-perceptions Á Morality Á Cognitions Introduction Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating condition that commonly involves morality-related themes such as perceived violation of moral standards, inflated responsibility, guilt, and scrupulosity (e.g., Abramowitz et al. 2002; Berman et al. 2010; Rachman 1997; Shafran et al. 1996). According to cognitive theories of OCD, dysfunctional cognitive biases play a crucial role in esca- lating commonly occurring intrusive thoughts into obses- sions (Frost and Steketee 2002; Rachman 1998; Salkovskis 1985). Recently, sensitivity in the morality self-domain and threat to one’s perceptions of moral purity have been linked with OCD-related phenomenology (Doron et al. 2012b; Elliott and Radomsky 2009). Moreover, brain imaging studies and experimental research have linked OCD-related phenomena with morality sensitivity (Doron et al. 2012a; Harrison et al. 2012; Zhong and Liljenquist 2006). In the current experimental study, we examine the hypothesis that threat to the morality self-domain triggers cognitive biases associated with OCD symptoms. According to cognitive-behavioral theories of OCD, most individuals experience intrusive thoughts similar in form and content to obsessions, albeit less intense, less distressing, and of shorter duration (Rachman and de Silva 1978; Salkovskis and Harrison 1984). Individuals with A. Abramovitch Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA A. Abramovitch (&) Á E. Altenburger Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA e-mail: aabramovitch@partners.org G. Doron Á D. Sar-El School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel 123 Cogn Ther Res DOI 10.1007/s10608-013-9568-6