Different sides of the same coin? Intercorrelations of cognitive biases in schizophrenia

A number of cognitive biases have been associated with delusions in schizophrenia. It is yet unresolved whether these biases are independent or represent different sides of the same coin.

A total of 56 patients with schizophrenia underwent a comprehensive cognitive battery encompassing paradigms tapping cognitive biases with special relevance to schizophrenia (e.g., jumping to conclusions, bias against disconfirmatory evidence), motivational factors (self-esteem and need for closure), and neuropsychological parameters. Psychopathology was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).

Core parameters of the cognitive bias instruments were submitted to a principal component analysis which yielded four independent components: jumping to conclusions, personalising attributional style, inflexibility, and low self-esteem.

The study lends tentative support for the claim that candidate cognitive mechanisms for delusions only partially overlap, and thus encourage current approaches to target these biases independently via (meta)cognitive training.