Speaker: Terence Ching
Title: Obsessive-Compulsive-Relevant Cognition
Date: 23rd October 2013 (Wednesday), 12pm-1pm
Venue: AS4/02-08 (Psychology Department Meeting Room)
Abstract:
In this talk, two studies (one in preparation, one under formulation) will be presented, both thematically linked by the spirit of incorporating paradigms and findings from non-clinical psychological fields into novel experimental research on obsessions and compulsions, and their treatment. The first study delves into semantic memory network-based conceptualizations of obsessions (Moritz, Jelinek, Klinge, & Naber, 2007) and how they are ameliorable with the novel cognitive technique of association splitting (Moritz & Jelinek, 2009), concluding with an appreciation of the limitation of an indiscriminate dimensional perspective on all cognitive aspects of the obsessive-compulsive phenomenon (cf. Abramowitz et al., 2010; Rachman, 1971, 1985). The second half of the talk exposits information for a proposed study examining, among other issues, the hypothesized plausibility of cognitive dissonance-induced reductions of obsessive-compulsive-relevant beliefs, via a mock EEG-assisted behavioral experiment. It is hoped for insightful speaker-audience interaction in this section of the talk to contribute to useful methodological refinements in the proposed study.
About the speaker:
Terence Ching received a bachelor’s degree (first class honors) in psychology from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2013. He also began his candidature in the NUS Master of Social Sciences (Psychology) research program in the same year. Thus far, his primary experimental research has revolved around the broad domain of cognition in the target category of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and is consistently designed with the aim of integrating findings from the clinical and cognitive psychological literatures for insights – whether of a theoretical or therapy-informing nature – into the obsessive-compulsive phenomenon. His OCD research aspirations abound, and he is always open to collaborative research opportunities in the aforementioned areas.
