Data Gathering: Biased in Psychosis?

Abstract

This study examined whether the probabilistic reasoning bias referred to as a "jumping-to-conclusions" (JTC) style of reasoning, which, according to previous research, is associated with particular psychotic symptoms such as delusions, represents a trait that can also be detected in nonpsychotic relatives of patients with schizophrenia and in nonpsychotic individuals with a high level of psychotic experiences. Participants were, in order of level of psychosis liability, 40 patients with schizophrenia or a schizoaffective disorder, 40 first-degree nonpsychotic relatives, 41 participants from the general population with above average expression of psychotic experiences, and 53 participants from the general population with an average level of psychotic experiences. A "jumping-to-conclusions" bias was assessed using the beads task. A dose-response relationship was found in the association between level of psychosis liability and JTC (defined as needing only a single bead to complete the beads task) (odds ratio [OR] linear trend = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.13-2.24), and, independently, alinear association was apparent between JTC and level of delusional ideation (OR linear trend = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.18-5.69). In addition, the association between psychosis liability and JTC was generally much stronger as the level of delusional ideation was higher. JTC is associated with liability to psychosis (trait), in particular if the psychosis phenotype is characterized by delusional ideation (state).

Cognitive Biases in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

“…In support of this, Menon et al [2 ] found that antipsychotic treatment in patients with schizophrenia did not reduce the bias which may suggest that jumping to conclusions bias could be a trait maker for schizophrenia. This bias has also been observed in irst-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia above all patients with delusions [26]. Similarly, these cognitive biases have been observed in patients with psychosis.…”

“…In fact, most studies have found this bias in patients with schizophrenia who have positive symptoms and not in patients with schizophrenia who have a negative symptomatology. Therefore, this bias is more associated with the delusions rather than with schizophrenia disorder [26]. The JTC is found in people with delusions with a schizophrenia diagnosis or delusional disorder.…”

Healthy people with delusional ideation change their mind with conviction

“…That is, they tend to draw conclusions based on less evidence than nondelusional participants (e.g., Huq et al, 1988;Garety et al, 1991;Garety et al, 2005;van Dael et al, 2006;Langdon et al, 2010; for a review see Fine et al, 2007). Even though the conclusions reached in the typical jump to conclusions paradigm are not of delusional content, such a mechanism of hasty decision-making can help explain why someone could consider a false belief in the first place (Ziegler et al, 2008).…”

14:15 Persistence of the Extended Psychosis Phenotype in Young People: Link Between Vulnerability and Clinical Need

“…Both clinical and non clinical psychosis are associated with (i) demographical risk factors such as younger age (a peak of symptoms in adolescence and a decrease after young adulthood) (Verdoux et al, 1998), being single or unemployed ) and gender, with women reporting more positive symptoms and men more negative symptoms ; and (ii) (environmental) risk factors such as urbanicity, trauma, cannabis, neuroticism (Myin Germeys, van Os, Krabbendam, Myin Germeys, & Delespaul, 2005). Finally, familial clustering is evident in regard to both symptomatology (Fanous, Gardner, Walsh & Kendler, 2001) and underlying cognitive (Barkus, Stirling, Hopkins, & Lewis, 2006;van Dael et al, 2005;Jabben, van Os, Janssen, Versmissen, & Krabbendam, 2007;Vollema & Postma, 2002) and psychophysiological mechanisms. For example, relatives of patients with schizophrenia…”

“…An increasingly influential paradigm for the study of psychosis is a dimensional one, in which psychosis is no longer seen as an all or nothing phenomenon, but rather as a continuum of severity, ranging from normal functioning on the one end through eccentricity and subclinical psychotic symptoms to clinical prodromes and florid psychosis on the other extreme end (van Dael et al, 2005). This shift from studying broad, heterogeneous and categorical concepts such as schizophrenia towards studying an extended psychosis phenotype that encompasses all cross diagnostic psychotic phenomena, clinical and subclinical, seems a promising approach.…”