The present study examined the dysfunctional attitudes and the personality styles of 40 psychiatric outpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and compared them to 33 outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 41 healthy controls (HC). Scores on Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), and Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale (SAS) were obtained for the three groups. Based on previous research it was predicted that higher levels of sociotropy subscales S 1 (concern about disapproval), and S 2 (attachment/separation concerns) would be specifically related to the diagnosis of OCD after controlling for differences in demographic variables and other psychiatric diagnoses. These hypotheses were confirmed. Significantly lower scores on subscale A 3 (solitary pursuits) was also found specifically related to OCD diagnoses. Higher scores on DAS and lower scores on autonomy subscale A 1 (independent achievement) were found to be particularly related to MDD. Implications of these findings for a cognitive model of the development of OCD are discussed.