Compulsive hand washing often increases in frequency because it relieves feelings of anxiety. this best illustrates the impact of on compulsive behaviors.

This best illustrates the impact of reinforcement on compulsive behaviors.

Explanation:

Compulsive hand washing is one of the symptoms of people who suffer from an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

ODC is an anxiety disorder in which people have recurring obsessions that makes them repeat actions or behaviors such as hand washing. This obsessions are unwanted can’t be controlled. Sometimes the individual can be desperate to be free of these compulsions but can’t handle the anxiety of not engaging these behaviors.  

If these fears are not controlled they can interfere with daily activities such as working, studying, and social interactions leading to isolation.

Other symptoms that people with OCD can experiment are:

-Fear of germs.

-Fear of illness.

-Fear of forgetting things or losing possessions.

-Obsession with symmetrical placement in objects.

-Obbsession with counting things.

-Reviewing one’s actions over and over again to see if one has harmed someone else or committed a sin.

-Repeating activities or movements, such as tapping one’s foot or taking steps, a certain number of times

This behaviors are considered an attempt to relieve anxiety and emotional distress, but as they are never completely effective, the individual is driven to repeat this actions over and over again.  

People diagnosed with OCD have the possibility to follow treatments to control this disorder and live a normal life.

the branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts.

the way in which a living organism or bodily part functions.