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Paranoia and social reasoning: an attribution theory analysis
R P Bentall1, S Kaney, M E Dewey
1Department of Psychiatry, New Medical School, Liverpool, UK.
The British Journal of Clinical Psychology
|February 1, 1991
Summary
Patients with persecutory delusions excessively attribute negative events to individuals, showing heightened certainty in their judgments. This differs from depressed patients and normal controls, impacting social reasoning.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Social reasoning is crucial for understanding interpersonal interactions.
- Persecutory delusions involve false beliefs about others intending harm.
- Attribution theory explains how individuals interpret causes of events.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate social attribution patterns in persecutory delusions.
- To compare social reasoning in deluded patients, depressed patients, and normal controls.
- To apply Kelley's theory of social attribution to understand delusional thinking.
Main Methods:
- Utilized social vignettes with varying distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus information.
- Assessed attributions to person, circumstances, or stimulus for social events.
- Measured certainty of judgments in different participant groups.
Main Results:
- Patients with persecutory delusions made excessive person attributions for negative events.
- Deluded patients exhibited significantly higher certainty in their judgments than depressed controls.
- Normal controls displayed intermediate certainty levels between deluded and depressed patients.
Conclusions:
- Persecutory delusions are associated with biased social attributions, particularly for negative social information.
- Heightened certainty in judgment may be a cognitive marker in persecutory delusions.
- Findings contribute to understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying delusions and social cognition.