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CHAPTER 4 110 of the CCS indicated that they were closely related, and the overall scale showed excellent internal consistency. Nonetheless, to gain insight in how checking behavior influenced the separate constructs, these were also analyzed individually. This showed that, although the data pattern of the experimental group seemed similar for all three constructs, the increase in overall checking-related cognitions was accounted for by an increase in cognitions about the severity of threat. Additionally, cognitions about the importance of checking decreased in the monitor group, but did not change in the experimental and control group. No changes in cognitions about the perceived likelihood of threat were found in any of the groups. There were no changes in general obsessive beliefs about inflated responsibility and exaggerated threat perceptions for any of the conditions. General anxiety decreased from pre- to post-test for all groups. The finding that increasing one’s daily checking behavior exacerbates checking- related cognitions about the severity of threat fits with previous studies showing that engaging in safety behavior increases anxiety and threat beliefs. Engaging in health- related safety behavior increased health anxiety and hypochondriacal beliefs (Olatunji et al., 2011), and cleaning-related safety behavior exacerbated threat perception and contamination anxiety (Deacon & Maack, 2008). Together, these findings suggest that safety behavior contributes directly to the exacerbation of anxiety and OCD symptoms, and may thus be involved in the development of anxiety disorders and OCD. Engaging in checking behavior did not change participants’ general obsessive beliefs about inflated responsibility and exaggerated threat perceptions, measured with the OBQ-44 RT scale. It seems likely that the checking behavior manipulation was not potent enough to influence these beliefs. In comparison with the CCS, which was designed to measure specific checking-related cognitions, the OBQ-44 RT scale addresses more overarching cognitions about responsibility and threat perceptions. This scale appears to be a more stable measure of beliefs that are related to trait anxiety and psychopathology in general, instead of specifically to OCD (Cougle &