Is Washing a Prepared Ritual?

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Abstract
Though numerous acts can be carried out in a ritualistic fashion, compulsive ritualising very often involves washing or cleaning behaviour. To explain this selectivity and non-randomness of compulsive ritualising, it was hypothesised that washing behaviour is a form of displacement behaviour and, as such, is intrinsically discomfort-reducing. This hypothesis was tested by having normal subjects either wash or rub their hands after a discomfort-induction procedure. The induction of discomfort was successful in that self-reported mood deteriorated and basal skin conductance increased. A significant improvement in mood occurred when subjects washed their hands. However, the same effect occured when controls rubbed their hands. The data do not support the hypothesis that washing behaviour, has an intrinsically discomfort-reducing effect.