Compulsive checking and selective processing of threatening information

Threatening stimuli are processed differently from neutral ones by anxious and obsessive-compulsive subjects. In the present research, processing of threatening words was compared with that of neutral words for two groups of Italian students, one with high mean and one with low mean score on Checking, a subscale of the Padua Inventory. Two tests were given, a computerized version of the emotional Stroop task and a later recognition test under incidental learning conditions. The expected interference effect on the Stroop task for those scoring high on Checking was confirmed. These results suggest an association between compulsive checking and bias in the first automatic stages of processing of threatening stimuli.