Compulsion

A compulsion is a repetitive, rule-based behavior that a person feels they must perform in order to feel normal and in some cases to prevent negative consequences from happening. It is an impulse to repeatedly perform an act even if it doesn't seem rational or goes against an individual's will.

This is a major issue with people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who feel the needs to act on the impulse of the compulsion often with obsessive tendencies. Common compulsions are over washing of hands, repeating behaviors (like sitting down or touching an item) a particular amount of times, or checking things repeatedly (like door locks or that the oven is off) or hoarding of items to an excess.