Staff
Publication details for Professor David Over
Dudley, REJ & Over, DE (2003). People with delusions jump to conclusions: A theoretical account ofresearch findings on the reasoning of people with delusions. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy 10(5): 263-274.- Publication type: Journal papers: academic
- ISSN/ISBN: 1063-3995
- Keywords: PERSECUTORY DELUSIONS; PRONE INDIVIDUALS; COGNITIVE MODEL; SELECTIONTASK; INFERENCE TASK; PERFORMANCE; INFORMATION; BIASES; FEAR
Author(s) from Durham
Abstract
Recent multifactorial models of psychotic symptoms such as delusions
emphasize a role for reasoning biases in the maintenance of delusional
beliefs. Specifically, people with delusions are seen to jump to
conclusions. This well-replicated experimental finding has received
little in the way of theoretical explanation. In this paper we review
this and other research findings examining reasoning of people with
delusions and account for these findings by drawing on a model of
reasoning. This theoretical integration helps understand the tendency
of people with delusions to exhibit this reasoning style. Specifically,
we propose that people without delusions demonstrate a normal tendency
to confirm danger-related conditional statements and that people with
delusions perceive danger and threat where others do not. Hence, this
normal reasoning style is extended to non-threatening situations. The
theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. Copyright (C) 2003
John Wiley Sons, Ltd.