Belief and Belief Formation: Insights from Delusions

Connors, Michael H.; Halligan, Peter W.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-50924-2_11

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Many of our beliefs are constructed based on memory of an event, a conversation or a character [4,5]. Among the different forms of memory, visual memory of human motions is particularly important in a multitude of daily activities, including skill acquisitions and nonverbal communication [6,7]; it also assists the recall of other types of memory [8].…”

Section: Visual Memory Of Human Motionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Side- and similarity-biases during confidence conformity

Yue¹,

Miyoshi²,

Yue³

2021

Preprint

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Memory conformity may develop when people are confronted with some divergent memories of others in social situations and knowingly/unknowingly incorporate these exogenous memories into their owns. Earlier research suggests that memory conformity is more prominent in subjects who bear low confidence towards their memory accuracy. Nonetheless, it is unclear whether and how this subjective confidence may likewise be influenced by the confidence levels of others. Here, we followed participant’s confidence transformation quantitatively over three confederate sessions in a memory test. After studying a set of human motion videos, participants had to answer whether a particular video had appeared before by indicating their side (i.e. Yes/No) and the associated confidence rating simultaneously. Participants were allowed to adjust their responses as they were being shown randomly-generated confederates’ answers and confidence values. Overall, we found that participants tended to become committed to their side early on and gain confidence gradually over subsequent sessions. This polarizing behavior may be explained by two kinds of preferences: (1) Participant’s confidence enhancement towards same-sided confederates was greater in magnitude compared to the decrement towards an opposite-sided confederate; and (2) Participants had the most effective confidence boost when the same-sided confederates shared similar, but not considerably different, confidence level to theirs. In other words, humans exhibit side- and similarity-biases during confidence conformity. Interestingly, among our participants, those who built up their confidence upon others’ retained a higher level of flexibility to change than those who had strong initial confidence. Thus, confidence polarization may not be a totally irreversible trend.

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Section: Visual Memory Of Human Motionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Side- and similarity-biases during confidence conformity

Yue¹,

Miyoshi²,

Yue³

2021

Preprint

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“…Cultural acceptance and adaptive social features play a pivotal role in differentiating pathological and normal beliefs: delusions are socially maladaptive and “not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person’s culture or subculture” [ 1 ]. Although the American Psychiatric Association’s statement seems to be clear-cut, evidence from clinical psychology, cultural anthropology, and cognitive science suggests a continuum between normal belief formation and psychopathological phenomena, with a blurred boundary between the community’s norms and disorders of thought that require clinical attention [ 2 , 3 , 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postdiction in Visual Awareness in Schizophrenia

Kéri

2022

Behavioral Sciences

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Background: The mistiming of predictive thought and real perception leads to postdiction in awareness. Individuals with high delusive thinking confuse prediction and perception, which results in impaired reality testing. The present observational study investigated how antipsychotic medications and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) modulate postdiction in schizophrenia. We hypothesized that treatment reduces postdiction, especially when antipsychotics and CBT are combined. Methods: We enrolled patients with schizophrenia treated in a natural clinical setting and not in a randomized controlled trial. We followed up two schizophrenia groups matched for age, sex, education, and illness duration: patients on antipsychotics (n = 25) or antipsychotics plus CBT (n = 25). The treating clinician assigned the patients to the two groups. Participants completed a postdiction and a temporal discrimination task at weeks 0 and 12. Results: At week 0, postdiction was enhanced in patients relative to controls at a short prediction–perception time interval, which correlated with PANSS positive symptoms and delusional conviction. At week 12, postdiction was reduced in schizophrenia, especially when they received antipsychotics plus CBT. Patients with schizophrenia were also impaired on the temporal discrimination task, which did not change during the treatment. During the 12-week observational period, all PANSS scores were significantly reduced in both clinical groups, but the positive symptoms and emotional distress exhibited a more pronounced response in the antipsychotics plus CBT group. Conclusion: Perceptual postdiction is a putative neurocognitive marker of delusive thinking. Combined treatment with antipsychotics and CBT significantly ameliorates abnormally elevated postdiction in schizophrenia.

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“…Human belief formation is not entirely rational. Based on extensive work in the cognitive science of belief formation, religion, and delusive thinking (Atran, 2002 ; Barrett, 2000 ; Boyer, 2001 ; Connors & Halligan, 2017 ; Seitz & Angel, 2015 ), Shermer ( 2011 ) proposed an evolutionary rooted belief engine in the brain that actively seeks structure, predictability, and meaning in environmental information flow. The belief engine forms patterns (patternicity) and attributes events to intentional agents (agencity) even when there are no statistical regularities in the environment and no agents who intentionally cause something.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, cultural acceptance and social adaptation that mediate bonding, alliances, and cooperation within a group are fundamental distinguishing features between delusions and religious beliefs: delusions are socially maladaptive and “not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture.” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ) Although the American Psychiatric Association's distinction is apparent, evidence from clinical psychology, cultural anthropology, and cognitive science indicate a continuum between healthy religious thoughts and psychopathological phenomena. The boundary between normal and abnormal is often blurred, and sometimes biased valuation, preoccupation, and distress, and not the core belief content, define delusion (e.g., some people with paranoia can be persecuted) (Connors & Halligan, 2017 ; McCauley & Graham, 2020 ; McKay & Ross, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(American Psychiatric Association, 2013) Although the American Psychiatric Association's distinction is apparent, evidence from clinical psychology, cultural anthropology, and cognitive science indicate a continuum between healthy religious thoughts and psychopathological phenomena. The boundary between normal and abnormal is often blurred, and sometimes biased valuation, preoccupation, and distress, and not the core belief content, define delusion (e.g., some people with paranoia can be persecuted) (Connors & Halligan, 2017;McCauley & Graham, 2020;McKay & Ross, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Postdiction in Visual Awareness and Intrinsic Religiosity

Kéri

2022

Cognitive Science

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The mistiming and fusion of predictive thought and actual perception result in postdiction in awareness, a critical factor in the emergence of nonrational beliefs. Individuals with delusive thinking tend to experience a temporal reversal of prediction (“I guess the rain will fall.”) and real perception (“I feel the rain falling.”), incorrectly showing conviction that their predictions are correct. It is unknown how postdiction is related to religious cognition with a particular reference to intrinsic religiosity when religious beliefs and values are master motives and fundamental frameworks of life. Using a temporal decision‐making task, we investigated a group of religiously committed individuals, atheists, and people from the general community. Results revealed higher postdiction at short thought‐precept time intervals in the intrinsic religious group relative to the atheists. Intrinsic religiosity, but not delusive thinking, was predicted by postdiction in both religious individuals and the general population. These results indicate that people who display pronounced thought‐percept reversal and fusion feel that they are close to a higher power and the sacred.

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Belief and Belief Formation: Insights from Delusions

Cited by 10 publications

References 72 publications

Side- and similarity-biases during confidence conformity

Side- and similarity-biases during confidence conformity

Postdiction in Visual Awareness in Schizophrenia

Postdiction in Visual Awareness and Intrinsic Religiosity

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