Understanding trust V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Reasoning biases and paranoia in the context of personality disorder
IRAS ID
315977
Contact name
Eloise Prouten
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Paranoid thoughts are thoughts that others intend to cause you harm. Experiencing these thoughts can cause people significant distress. Many people with a diagnosis of psychosis experience paranoid thoughts and this has been widely researched. However other groups, such as those with a diagnosis of personality disorder, also experience paranoid thoughts. Research conducted on paranoid thoughts in psychosis shows us that a reasoning bias called ‘jumping to conclusions’ may maintain paranoid thoughts. When someone jumps to conclusions, they generally need less evidence about a topic to make a decision or come to a conclusion. Studies have found that targeting reasoning biases, such as jumping to conclusions, reduces the strength of a paranoid thought. We are interested in whether people with a personality disorder diagnosis also exhibit the reasoning bias ‘jumping to conclusions’ and we predict they will. Understanding what it is that may contribute to the maintenance of paranoid thoughts may help us target these contributing factors in future treatments and improve outcomes for those experiencing paranoia.
Summary of Results
We found significant differences in rates of 'jumping to conclusions' between the three groups. People with a diagnosis of personality disorder 'jumped to conclusions' significantly more than people in the general population. People with a diagnosis of psychosis also 'jumped to conclusions' more than people in the general population.
REC name
Wales REC 3
REC reference
23/WA/0076
Date of REC Opinion
3 May 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion