TY  - GEN
ID  - cogprints1147
UR  - http://cogprints.org/1147/
A1  - Abed, Riadh T
A1  - de Pauw, Karel W
Y1  - 1999///
N2  - A new hypothesis is presented within the framework of evolutionary psychology that attempts to explain the origins of obsessive-compulsive disorder.  It is suggested that obsessions and compulsions originate from the overactivity of a mental module that the majority of humans possess and has the function of generating risk scenarios without voluntary intervention.  It is hypothesised that obsessional phenomena function as an off-line risk avoidance process, designed to lead to risk avoidance behaviour at a future time, thus distinguishing it from anxiety and related phenomena as on-line emotional states, designed to lead to the avoidance of immediate and direct risks.  Finally, the hypothesis makes a number of specific predictions that are testable and refutable.  It is contended that the present hypothesis if supported by empirical evidence could serve as a basis for future research on this important disorder.
PB  - IOS Press
KW  - Darwinism
KW  -  evolutionary psychology
KW  -  obsessive-compulsive disorder
KW  -  post-traumatic stress disorder
TI  - An Evolutionary Hypothesis for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Psychological Immune System?
SP  - 245
AV  - public
EP  - 250
ER  -

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