Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Positive Symptoms Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions01:26

Positive Symptoms Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions

461
Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder characterized by a range of symptoms that significantly impact cognition, behavior, and emotional regulation. Among these, the positive symptoms stand out as they involve the addition or exaggeration of normal mental functions, deviating markedly from typical behavior and perception. Hallucinations and delusions are prominent positive symptoms, each profoundly affecting the individual's experience of reality.
Hallucinations
Hallucinations in...
461
Magical Thinking01:29

Magical Thinking

184
Magical thinking encompasses the belief in assumptions that defy logical reasoning yet appear intuitively convincing. It is a common psychological phenomenon that persists across various cultural and individual contexts. While these assumptions contradict empirical evidence and scientific laws, they often serve meaningful psychological roles in promoting emotional resilience and a sense of control, especially under stress or uncertainty.Thought-Action Fusion and the Law of SimilarityA key...
184
Protecting Self-Esteem01:27

Protecting Self-Esteem

182
Self-esteem, a central component of psychological well-being, is actively maintained through various cognitive and behavioral strategies. Individuals employ specific mechanisms to preserve a positive self-concept and mitigate threats to their self-worth, particularly in contexts involving social evaluation or personal feedback. Four primary techniques are commonly used to sustain self-esteem.Manipulating AppraisalsOne prominent strategy involves manipulating appraisals from others. Individuals...
182
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies02:09

Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies

41.9K
When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs. Research by Rosenthal and...
41.9K
False Memories01:18

False Memories

389
False memories represent a cognitive distortion in which individuals recall events that did not happen, or remember them in an altered form. This phenomenon highlights the brain's constructive nature in processing and recalling memories, emphasizing that memory is not a perfect representation of past events but rather a dynamic reconstruction influenced by various factors.
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information...
389
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification03:00

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

5.7K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
5.7K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Optimism, Agency, and Success.

Ethical theory and moral practice : an international forum·2026
Same author

Epistemic innocence and the production of false memory beliefs.

Philosophical studies·2026
Same author

Revisiting delusions to demystify human agency: A response to critics.

Philosophy and the mind sciences·2026
Same author

The Ant and the Grasshopper: Does Biased Cognition Compromise Agency in the Case of Delusions and Conspiracy Theories?

Review of philosophy and psychology·2025
Same author

Is it pathological to believe conspiracy theories?

Transcultural psychiatry·2023
Same author

Communication in youth mental health clinical encounters: Introducing the agential stance.

Theory & psychology·2022
Same journal

Grief, disorientation, and futurity.

Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences·2026
Same journal

Animal navigation without mental representation.

Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences·2026
Same journal

The epistemic harms of empathy in phenomenological psychopathology.

Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences·2026
Same journal

Being one of us: we-identities and self-categorization theory.

Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences·2026
Same journal

People are STRANGE: towards a philosophical archaeology of self.

Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences·2025
Same journal

Situated imagination.

Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences·2025
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 13, 2026

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
06:42

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Published on: September 28, 2018

12.1K

Can delusions play a protective role?

Rachel Gunn1, Lisa Bortolotti1

  • 1Philosophy Department, Edgbaston Campus, University of Birmingham, ERI Building, Edgbaston B15 2TT, UK.

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences
|January 8, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Delusions may offer short-term adaptive benefits by protecting individuals during difficult circumstances. This study explores the protective function of delusional beliefs from a first-person perspective.

Keywords:
AdaptivenessDelusionsMental healthPsychosisQualitative researchStigmaTreatment

More Related Videos

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
05:48

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

6.3K
The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
07:26

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Published on: January 31, 2017

39.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 13, 2026

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
06:42

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Published on: September 28, 2018

12.1K
The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
05:48

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

6.3K
The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
07:26

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Published on: January 31, 2017

39.6K

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Psychiatry
  • Mental Health Research

Background:

  • Delusion formation is often viewed negatively in empirical and philosophical literature.
  • Emerging theories suggest potential adaptive roles for delusions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the potential adaptive and protective functions of delusions.
  • To analyze first-person accounts of delusion formation and its impact.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted in-depth interviews with three individuals experiencing delusions.
  • Analyzed cases based on preceding circumstances, effects on the individual's situation, and perceived protective nature.

Main Results:

  • Delusional beliefs can serve a short-term protective function for individuals.
  • The first-person perspective reveals potential benefits in managing difficult situations.

Conclusions:

  • Delusion formation may have a short-term adaptive role.
  • Findings may impact understanding of psychotic symptoms, mental health stigma, and treatment approaches.