The psychology of persecutory ideation I: a questionnaire survey.

Paranoia is a complex phenomenon that is likely to arise from a number of factors. In a recent cognitive model of persecutory delusions, three key factors are highlighted: anomalous experiences, emotion, and reasoning. In the first of two linked studies, we report a questionnaire survey of nonclinical paranoia designed to assess the theoretical model. A nonclinical population (N = 327) completed measures of paranoia, anomalous experiences (hallucinatory predisposition, perceptual anomalies), emotion (depression, anxiety, self-focus, stress, interpersonal sensitivity), and reasoning (need for closure). Paranoia was best explained by separation anxiety, depression, fragile inner self, hallucinatory experiences, discomfort with ambiguity, stress, self-focus, perceptual anomalies, and anxiety. The findings are consistent with the central predictions within the model of paranoia.

The psychology of persecutory ideation II: a virtual reality experimental study.

A cognitive model of persecutory delusions is used to predict the occurrence of nonclinical paranoid thoughts in a virtual reality environment. Scorers across the range of paranoia entered a virtual reality scene populated by five computer characters programmed to behave neutrally (N = 30). Many appraisals of the computer characters were positive or neutral. However, there were also persecutory thoughts about the characters. Providing evidence of the validity of the experimental method, persecutory ideation was predicted by higher trait paranoia and a greater sense of presence in the environment. The psychological variables from the cognitive model that predicted persecutory ideation were anxiety, timidity, and hallucinatory predisposition. Further, hallucinatory predisposition distinguished the prediction of paranoid thoughts from social anxiety in virtual reality. It is concluded that nonclinical paranoid thoughts are most closely associated with emotional disturbances and anomalous experiences. Extreme reasoning bias may particularly contribute to the development of clinical phenomena.

Psychological investigation of the structure of paranoia in a non-clinical population.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies of paranoia have assessed only limited numbers of paranoid thoughts, and have not considered the experience from a multidimensional perspective or examined the relationship between different suspicious thoughts. AIMS: To assess a wide range of paranoid thoughts multidimensionally and examine their distribution, to identify the associated coping strategies and to examine social-cognitive processes and paranoia. METHOD: Six questionnaire assessments were completed by 1202 individuals using the internet. RESULTS: Paranoid thoughts occurred regularly in approximately a third of the group. Increasing endorsement of paranoid thoughts was characterised by the recruitment of rarer and odder ideas. Higher levels of paranoia were associated with emotional and avoidant coping, less use of rational and detached coping, negative attitudes to emotional expression, submissive behaviours and lower social rank. CONCLUSIONS: Suspiciousness is common and there may be a hierarchical arrangement of such thoughts that builds on common emotional concerns.

The prediction of hallucinatory predisposition in non-clinical individuals: examining the contribution of emotion and reasoning.

BACKGROUND: Emotion, especially anxiety, has been implicated in triggering hallucinations. Reasoning processes are also likely to influence the judgments that lead to hallucinatory experiences. We report an investigation of the prediction of hallucinatory predisposition by emotion and associated processes (anxiety, depression, stress, self-focused attention) and reasoning (need for closure, extreme responding). METHOD: Data were analysed from a questionnaire survey in a student population (N = 327). RESULTS: Higher levels of anxiety, self-focus, and extreme responding were associated with hallucinatory predisposition. Interactions between these three variables did not strengthen the predictive effect of each. Depression, stress, and need for closure were not found to be predictors of hallucinatory experience in the regression analysis. CONCLUSION: Emotional and reasoning processes may both need to be considered in the understanding of hallucinatory experience.