Self-oriented perfectionism and information gathering behaviour

Individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) need additional information before making a decision. The present study examines information-gathering behaviour and its relationship with perfectionism, one of the risk factors for OCD. Thirty-three participants, 17 rated high and 16 rated low on Self-Oriented Perfectionism (SOP: Hewitt & Flett, 1991), performed a probability inference task. The participants were required to make a decision while gathering information. The results suggest that although the high-SOP group needed additional information before making a decision compared to the low-SOP group, there was no difference in the task completion time between the two groups.