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01-12-2007 | Original Article

‘Jumping to Conclusions’ and Attributional Style in Persecutory Delusions

Auteurs: Jayne Merrin, Peter Kinderman, Richard P. Bentall

Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research | Uitgave 6/2007

Abstract

Persecutory delusions have been associated with a tendency to 'jump to conclusions' and an abnormal attributional style. We hypothesised that jumping to conclusions - requesting relatively little information prior to decision-making - could account for the observed biases in attributional style. Individuals with persecutory delusions (n = 24) were compared with matched depressed psychiatric (n = 24) and nonpsychiatric (n = 24) comparison groups using a modified inductive reasoning task (John & Dodgson, 1994) on which participants requested information before making attributions for common social events. Both clinical groups 'jumped to conclusions' and made attributions on the basis of little evidence. This tendency was greatest in individuals with persecutory delusions. Differences were also found in the proportions of questions seeking internal, external and situational information. However, there were no significant differences between the groups in the final attributions made. These findings inform a model of persecutory delusions whereby a limited cognitive search strategy may influence attributional style.

vorige artikel Attentional Bias in Social Anxiety: Manipulation of Stimulus Duration and Social-evaluative Anxiety

volgende artikel Desire for Control, Sense of Control and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

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Titel: ‘Jumping to Conclusions’ and Attributional Style in Persecutory Delusions
Auteurs: Jayne Merrin
Peter Kinderman
Richard P. Bentall
Publicatiedatum: 01-12-2007
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research / Uitgave 6/2007
Print ISSN: 0147-5916
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2819
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9097-7

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