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Paranoid Thinking (paranoid + thinking)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Psychology50%

Selected Abstracts

Paranoid thinking as a heuristic

EARLY INTERVENTION IN PSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2010
Antonio Preti
Abstract Paranoid thinking can be viewed as a human heuristic used by individuals to deal with uncertainty during stressful situations. Under stress, individuals are likely to emphasize the threatening value of neutral stimuli and increase the reliance on paranoia-based heuristic to interpreter events and guide their decisions. Paranoid thinking can also be activated by stress arising from the possibility of losing a good opportunity; this may result in an abnormal allocation of attentional resources to social agents. A better understanding of the interplay between cognitive heuristics and emotional processes may help to detect situations in which paranoid thinking is likely to exacerbate and improve intervention for individuals with delusional disorders. [source]

The relation of paranoid ideation and social anxiety in a mixed clinical population

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 2 2005
P. Gilbert
This study investigates the relationship between paranoid ideation and social anxiety in a heterogeneous clinical population of 36 men and 35 women. We further explore the relationship of these anxieties to beliefs about relative social power, social rank and submissive behavior. Women had higher scores on social interaction anxiety, submissive behavior, lower social power, and compared themselves more unfavorably to others than did men. Paranoid thinking and social anxieties were highly correlated in this population and both were related to social rank perceptions, power and submissive behavior. The results suggest that paranoid thinking and social anxiety can overlap significantly, and issues of social power/rank may underpin both forms of anxiety.,Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Paranoid thinking as a heuristic

EARLY INTERVENTION IN PSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2010
Antonio Preti
Abstract Paranoid thinking can be viewed as a human heuristic used by individuals to deal with uncertainty during stressful situations. Under stress, individuals are likely to emphasize the threatening value of neutral stimuli and increase the reliance on paranoia-based heuristic to interpreter events and guide their decisions. Paranoid thinking can also be activated by stress arising from the possibility of losing a good opportunity; this may result in an abnormal allocation of attentional resources to social agents. A better understanding of the interplay between cognitive heuristics and emotional processes may help to detect situations in which paranoid thinking is likely to exacerbate and improve intervention for individuals with delusional disorders. [source]

Psychological processes and paranoia: implications for forensic behavioural science

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 3 2006
Richard P. Bentall Ph.D.
Paranoid delusions have recently become the focus of empirical research. In this article, we review studies of the psychological mechanisms that might be involved in paranoid thinking and discuss their implications for forensic behaviour science. Paranoia has not been consistently associated with any specific neuropsychological abnormality. However, evidence supports three broad types of mechanism that might be involved in delusional thinking in general and paranoia in particular: anomalous perceptual experiences, abnormal reasoning, and motivational factors. There is some evidence that paranoia may be associated with hearing loss, and good evidence that paranoid patients attend excessively to threatening information. Although general reasoning ability seems to be unaffected, there is strong evidence that a jumping- to-conclusions style of reasoning about data is implicated in delusions in general, but less consistent evidence specifically linking paranoia to impaired theory of mind. Finally, there appears to be a strong association between paranoia and negative self-esteem, and some evidence that attempts to protect self-esteem by attributing negative events to external causes are implicated. Some of these processes have recently been implicated in violent behaviour, and they therefore have the potential to explain the apparent association between paranoid delusions and offending. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The relation of paranoid ideation and social anxiety in a mixed clinical population

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 2 2005
P. Gilbert
This study investigates the relationship between paranoid ideation and social anxiety in a heterogeneous clinical population of 36 men and 35 women. We further explore the relationship of these anxieties to beliefs about relative social power, social rank and submissive behavior. Women had higher scores on social interaction anxiety, submissive behavior, lower social power, and compared themselves more unfavorably to others than did men. Paranoid thinking and social anxieties were highly correlated in this population and both were related to social rank perceptions, power and submissive behavior. The results suggest that paranoid thinking and social anxiety can overlap significantly, and issues of social power/rank may underpin both forms of anxiety.,Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]