Compulsive behavior may be far more ordinary, persistent and diagnostically widespread than traditional psychiatric categories suggest, according to a new study published in Translational Psychiatry. Led by V. Teckentrup, C.A. Fox, K.R. Donegan and colleagues, the research used experience sampling to examine compulsivity as it unfolds in people’s daily lives. Rather than studying behavior only through a single clinical interview or questionnaire completed in a laboratory, the researchers focused on repeated observations collected close to the moments when urges, habits and actions actually occur.
The study, titled “Experience sampling reveals habitual and transdiagnostic properties of compulsivity,” addresses a central problem in mental-health research: many symptoms are measured as if they are stable personal characteristics, even though they can fluctuate dramatically across situations. Experience sampling—also known as ecological momentary assessment—attempts to capture those fluctuations by asking participants to report their thoughts, emotions, urges and behaviors repeatedly over time, often through digital devices. This approach can reveal patterns that disappear when experiences are summarized into a single score.
Compulsivity is commonly associated with conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, but its reach extends far beyond one diagnosis. Repetitive checking, washing, ordering, reassurance seeking, rigid routines, binge-like behaviors and other difficult-to-control actions can appear across several psychiatric disorders. The new research frames compulsivity as a transdiagnostic phenomenon, meaning that it may represent a shared psychological process cutting across diagnostic boundaries rather than a symptom belonging exclusively to one disorder.
The distinction matters because psychiatric diagnoses are often organized around clusters of symptoms, while the mechanisms that generate those symptoms may overlap. Two people with different diagnoses can experience the same cycle: an uncomfortable internal state, a powerful urge to perform a behavior, brief relief after the behavior and a return of distress that strengthens the urge to repeat it. By studying compulsivity across contexts and conditions, researchers can investigate this cycle directly instead of assuming that diagnostic labels fully explain it.
The term “habitual” in the study’s title points to another important feature of compulsive behavior. Habits are actions that become increasingly automatic through repetition and are often triggered by specific contexts. In contrast to deliberate, goal-directed behavior, habitual actions can persist even when their original reward has weakened. A person may continue checking a lock despite knowing it is secure, or repeat a ritual despite recognizing that it provides only temporary relief. Experience sampling allows scientists to test whether compulsive acts are linked to recurring environments, emotional states or cues in everyday life.
This is technically different from simply asking whether someone considers themselves a habitual person. Repeated measurements can separate between-person differences from within-person changes. A participant might generally report low compulsivity but experience intense urges during periods of stress, poor sleep or uncertainty. Another person might show a more stable pattern across situations. Statistical models designed for intensive longitudinal data can examine both levels at once, identifying whether compulsivity is primarily a persistent trait, a context-sensitive state or a combination of the two.
The real-world focus also has implications for how compulsivity is understood clinically. Laboratory tasks can measure decision-making, response inhibition or reward learning under controlled conditions, but everyday compulsive behavior is embedded in social settings, routines and emotional reactions. A smartphone prompt delivered during a commute, at home or in the middle of a stressful interaction may capture a more ecologically valid picture than a retrospective account given days or weeks later. Memory is selective, and people may not accurately recall how often an urge occurred, how intense it felt or how quickly it led to action.
By identifying habitual and transdiagnostic properties, the study may help explain why similar therapeutic strategies can be useful across apparently different disorders. Treatments that target avoidance, intolerance of uncertainty, reinforcement learning or the gradual weakening of ritualized responses could potentially be adapted for multiple forms of compulsivity. The findings also support a move toward personalized care: if compulsive behavior is strongly shaped by particular contexts, interventions might focus on recognizing triggers in real time and interrupting the sequence before a repeated action becomes automatic.
The research arrives as psychiatry increasingly turns toward dimensional models of mental health. Instead of treating symptoms as either present or absent within separate diagnostic boxes, dimensional approaches measure characteristics such as anxiety, impulsivity and compulsivity along continuous scales. Experience sampling is especially well suited to this framework because it can show how these dimensions operate dynamically, revealing when a tendency becomes a problem and which environmental conditions amplify it. Such information could eventually support earlier detection, more precise diagnosis and digital interventions timed to moments of greatest vulnerability.
Although the study’s title summarizes its central contribution, its broader message is already clear: compulsivity is not necessarily confined to a single disorder or expressed in the same way at all times. It can be a recurring pattern shaped by learning, context, emotional discomfort and the immediate promise of relief. By observing these processes as they happen in daily life, Teckentrup, Fox, Donegan and their colleagues provide a framework for studying compulsive behavior as both a habit and a cross-cutting feature of mental health. The approach could help transform compulsivity from a narrowly defined symptom into a measurable process that links diverse conditions and points toward more flexible treatments.
Subject of Research: Compulsivity, habitual behavior, experience sampling and transdiagnostic properties of compulsive experiences.
Article Title: Experience sampling reveals habitual and transdiagnostic properties of compulsivity.
Article References: Teckentrup, V., Fox, C.A., Donegan, K.R. et al. “Experience sampling reveals habitual and transdiagnostic properties of compulsivity.” Translational Psychiatry (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-04350-6
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-04350-6
Keywords: compulsivity, habitual behavior, experience sampling, ecological momentary assessment, transdiagnostic psychiatry, mental health, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, behavioral science, psychiatric research
