Cognitive biases in treatment decision making capacity. Version 2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the role of cognitive biases in treatment decision making capacity of people who have experienced psychosis
IRAS ID
149335
Contact name
Amanda Larkin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 29 days
Research summary
This study will explore factors related to treatment decision making capacity in people who have experienced psychosis. Psychosis refers to a number of mental disorders that lead people to believe things that are not real. Research shows that people who experience psychosis are more likely than people with other mental disorders to have impaired capacity to make treatment decisions. Psychological models of psychosis say that cognitive biases (thinking errors) play a role in the development and maintenance of delusions and hallucinations. This model will be used to make predictions about treatment decision making capacity in psychosis. This study will explore if cognitive biases contribute to impaired treatment decision making capacity in people who have experienced psychosis, and if capacity is related to recovery.
There is little known about the clinical factors that contribute to impaired decision making capacity. This study will build an evidence base on clinical factors. This will help clinicians who are asked to make judgments on patients’ capacity to make treatment decisions. This study will also begin to build a theoretical model of treatment decision making capacity. Such a model may lead to further research, and help to inform possible supports and interventions that will help patients maintain or improve their decision making capacity while experiencing psychosis. It is hoped that this will help patients to be fully involved in their treatment decisions.
The study will aim to recruit participants who are diagnosed with non-affective psychotic disorders who have experienced at least one episode of psychosis. Participants will be contacted through Community Mental Health Teams and Psychiatry caseloads and invited to take part in the study. Participants will be asked to take part in a semi-structured interview with the chief investigator, and to complete a computerised task. The study should take a maximum of two hours of each participants’ time.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
15/WS/0001
Date of REC Opinion
19 Jan 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion