Schizotypal people stick longer to their first choices

Psychiatry Res. 2012 Dec 30;200(2-3):620-8. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2012.03.030. Epub 2012 Apr 21.

Abstract

Many studies have reported that schizophrenic patients show a Bias Against Disconfirmatory Evidence (BADE). This cognitive bias has been related to the formation and maintenance of delusion. The aim of this paper was to study whether BADE was present in healthy people displaying psychometric schizotypy, and to compare a closure task, which has been used for schizophrenia, with a new chronometric paradigm. Results with the new paradigm showed that the high-schizotypy group maintained their initial hypotheses longer than the low-schizotypy group. This finding corroborated the similarities between schizophrenic disorder and schizotypal traits, in this case with respect to the BADE. Research of this kind could facilitate the study of cognition in the schizophrenic spectrum without the difficulties of working with schizophrenic patients for some tasks and the assessment and early intervention in at-risk populations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Choice Behavior*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Psychometrics
  • Schizophrenic Psychology*
  • Schizotypal Personality Disorder / psychology*