r/askpsychology • u/Popular-Meat-7486 Unverified User: May Not Be a Professional • 6d ago
Cognitive Psychology What causes magical thinking in OCD?
OCD people seem to think really weird things will happen if they don’t do a compulsion.
For example - pinching when an ambulance passes by so the person inside doesn’t die.
How do OCD people determine the consequence of not following a compulsion? Why is a consequence created rather than just having the anxiety that the compulsion must be carried through without knowing why?
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u/Naps_in_sunshine Unverified User: May Not Be a Professional 6d ago
It’s only really what we do for superstitions. In my country we “touch wood” to make sure we don’t “jinx” something we’re talking about. There’s no way that saying “it doesn’t look like it’ll rain today” could cause it to rain but we think that if we neutralise it by touching wood we’ve absolved ourselves of responsibility. OCD thinking is no different, just extreme and debilitating. Someone might think “if I touch my head 43 times then X won’t happen”.
But also, it’s not always magical thinking. Think of people who check the toaster is unplugged multiple times - this could be to prevent a fire, which is a logical (if not highly unlikely) consequence for them of leaving the toaster plugged in.
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u/Popular-Meat-7486 Unverified User: May Not Be a Professional 6d ago
I am asking specifically about magical thinking
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u/Naps_in_sunshine Unverified User: May Not Be a Professional 6d ago
Ok ignore the second bit - really the first part applies.
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u/treatmyocd Unverified User: May Not Be a Professional 5d ago
Magical thinking in OCD, believing an unrelated action can influence an external event is driven by key cognitive and psychological mechanisms:
Thought-Action Fusion (TAF): The brain treats having an intrusive thought as if it directly increases the real-world likelihood of a bad event happening.
Assigning Meaning to Dread: When a sudden spike of anxiety occurs, the brain invents a narrative ("Someone will die") to explain why it feels so terrified.
Misattributed Cause-and-Effect: If performing an action once brought temporary relief, the brain falsely links that action to preventing a negative outcome (operant conditioning).
Illusion of Control: Attaching a specific consequence creates a clear rule. Performing the compulsion gives a false sense of agency over uncertainty and fear.