Different sides of the same coin? Intercorrelations of cognitive biases in schizophrenia

Abstract

Introduction. A number of cognitive biases have been associated with delusions in schizophrenia. It is yet unresolved whether these biases are independent or represent different sides of the same coin.

Methods. A total of 56 patients with schizophrenia underwent a comprehensive cognitive battery encompassing paradigms tapping cognitive biases with special relevance to schizophrenia (e.g., jumping to conclusions, bias against disconfirmatory evidence), motivational factors (self-esteem and need for closure), and neuropsychological parameters. Psychopathology was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).

Results. Core parameters of the cognitive bias instruments were submitted to a principal component analysis which yielded four independent components: jumping to conclusions, personalising attributional style, inflexibility, and low self-esteem.

Conclusions. The study lends tentative support for the claim that candidate cognitive mechanisms for delusions only partially overlap, and thus encourage current approaches to target these biases independently via (meta)cognitive training.

Keywords:

• Bias against disconfirmatory evidence
• Delusions
• Jumping to conclusions
• Need for closure
• Schizophrenia
• Self-esteem

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.