Author:
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Garety, Philippa; Fowler, David; Freeman, Daniel; Pugh, Katherine; Antley, Angus; Slater, Melvyn; Bebbington, Paul; Gittins, Matthew; Dunn, Graham; Kuipers, Elizabeth
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Abstract:
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Background:
Judging whether we can trust other people is central to
social interaction, despite being error-prone. A fear of others
can be instilled by the contemporary political and social
climate. Unfounded mistrust is called paranoia, and in severe
forms is a central symptom of schizophrenia.
Aims:
To demonstrate that individuals without severe mental illness
in the general population experience unfounded paranoid
thoughts, and to determine factors predictive of paranoia
using the first laboratory method of capturing the
experience.
Method:
Two hundred members of the general public were
comprehensively assessed, and then entered a virtual reality
train ride populated by neutral characters. Ordinal logistic
regressions (controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, education,
intellectual functioning, socio-economic status, train use playing of computer games) were used to determine
predictors of paranoia.
Results:
The majority agreed that the characters were neutral, or
even thought they were friendly. However, a substantial
minority reported paranoid concerns. Paranoia was strongly
predicted by anxiety, worry, perceptual anomalies and
cognitive inflexibility.
Conclusions:
This is the most unambiguous demonstration of paranoid
ideation in the general public so far. Paranoia can be
understood in terms of cognitive factors. The use of virtual
reality should lead to rapid advances in the understanding of
paranoia. |