The effect of recent memories on mood and thoughts
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does state-anxiety lead to increased state-paranoia in people with paranoid psychosis? An experimental investigation
IRAS ID
201330
Contact name
Megan Cowles
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bath
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 30 days
Research summary
Paranoia describes unsupported beliefs that actual harm is intended to you. Unsurprisingly, paranoid beliefs can be very distressing for people who experience them. Research suggests that anxiety might be one of the reasons that people experience paranoid thoughts but so far this has only been shown in longitudinal and correlational studies and non-clinical populations. It has not yet been demonstrated experimentally in people experiencing paranoia in the context of psychosis that increased state-anxiety leads to increased paranoia.
Knowing whether short-term increases in anxiety lead to short-term increases in paranoid thinking in people suffering with psychosis will indicate whether treatments targeting state-anxiety should be investigated further as possible ways to manage paranoia and distress. By exploring state-anxiety and paranoia this study will extend on previous findings by indicating whether short-term interventions or coping strategies, which may be easier and cheaper to teach than current 6-week long anxiety programmes, could be useful to help people manage paranoid thoughts and the distress associated with these. Additionally, it will add to the emerging evidence demonstrating that psychological and emotional factors are key features of psychotic experiences.
In this study 22 participants with paranoia and psychosis will be guided to remember a recent everyday anxious event and a recent everyday neutral event. Measures will be taken before and after each stage of the experiment to see whether the anxious memories lead to more paranoid thinking than the neutral memories and whether this is due to levels of anxiety. A positive imagery exercise will be used after each of the memory exercises to reduce any negative emotions that might have come up; this positive imagery has been shown to reduce anxiety and paranoia in previous studies. The whole procedure will take approximately 90-120 minutes. Participants will be paid £10 and given materials about managing state anxiety.
REC name
Wales REC 1
REC reference
16/WA/0162
Date of REC Opinion
13 Jun 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion