Related Experiment Videos
Avoidant personality disorder and implicit schema-congruent information processing bias: a pilot study with a
L Dreessen1, A Arntz, T Hendriks
1Department of Medical, Clinical and Experimental Psychology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. l.dreessen@mp.unimaas.nl
Behaviour Research and Therapy
|July 14, 1999
Summary
Cognitive theory suggests maladaptive schemas drive personality disorders. This study found avoidant beliefs link to information processing biases in avoidant personality disorder, but not directly to the disorder itself.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Cognitive theory posits personality disorders stem from maladaptive schemas.
- These schemas influence information processing, creating biases.
- Avoidant personality disorder (APD) is hypothesized to involve specific schemas and biases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test cognitive theory hypotheses regarding APD.
- To investigate the link between avoidant schemas and information processing biases.
- To examine the association between APD pathology and schema-congruent biases.
Main Methods:
- Pilot study with 57 students.
- Assessed DSM-III-R APD pathology via self-report.
- Used belief and pragmatic inference tasks to assess schemas and biases.
Main Results:
- APD pathology correlated with avoidant beliefs (p < 0.001).
- Avoidant beliefs correlated with schema-congruent information processing bias (p = 0.02).
- APD pathology did not directly correlate with information processing bias (p = 0.43); low self-esteem was related.
Conclusions:
- Findings support cognitive theory's link between beliefs and biases in APD.
- Direct link between APD pathology and processing bias requires further investigation.
- Low self-esteem may also influence information processing bias in APD.