Is obsessive-compulsive disorder a pathology of the human disposition to perform socially meaningful rituals? Evidence of similar content

Abstract

This study investigated the theory that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a pathology of the human disposition to perform culturally meaningful social rituals. We tested the hypothesis that the same actions and thoughts that are ego-dystonic in OCD are valued when they are appropriately performed in socially legitimated rituals. Two coders analyzed ethnographic descriptions of rituals, work, and another activity in each of 52 cultures. The coders recorded the presence or absence of 49 features of OCD and 19 features of other psychopathologies. The features of OCD were more likely to be present and occurred more frequently in rituals than in either control; rituals also contained more di..