-
Current Opinion in Psychology Oct 2022Paranoia and conspiracy thinking share many risk factors, such as victimization, poverty and social isolation. They also have many phenomenological features in common,... (Review)
Review
Paranoia and conspiracy thinking share many risk factors, such as victimization, poverty and social isolation. They also have many phenomenological features in common, including heightened tendency to attribute negative outcomes to malevolent agents and idiosyncratic pattern detection. Nevertheless, paranoia and conspiracy thinking also differ in key respects. Specifically, paranoid thoughts tend to be held in isolation and involve perceptions of harm to the self. Conspiracy beliefs, on the other hand, are shared by others and involve the perception of collective rather than personal harm. We discuss the similarities and differences between paranoia and conspiracy thinking and outline fruitful avenues for future research.
Topics: Bullying; Crime Victims; Humans; Paranoid Disorders
PubMed: 35767934
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101362 -
PLoS Computational Biology Oct 2021Self-deception, paranoia, and overconfidence involve misbeliefs about the self, others, and world. They are often considered mistaken. Here we explore whether they might...
Self-deception, paranoia, and overconfidence involve misbeliefs about the self, others, and world. They are often considered mistaken. Here we explore whether they might be adaptive, and further, whether they might be explicable in Bayesian terms. We administered a difficult perceptual judgment task with and without social influence (suggestions from a cooperating or competing partner). Crucially, the social influence was uninformative. We found that participants heeded the suggestions most under the most uncertain conditions and that they did so with high confidence, particularly if they were more paranoid. Model fitting to participant behavior revealed that their prior beliefs changed depending on whether the partner was a collaborator or competitor, however, those beliefs did not differ as a function of paranoia. Instead, paranoia, self-deception, and overconfidence were associated with participants' perceived instability of their own performance. These data are consistent with the idea that self-deception, paranoia, and overconfidence flourish under uncertainty, and have their roots in low self-esteem, rather than excessive social concern. The model suggests that spurious beliefs can have value-self-deception is irrational yet can facilitate optimal behavior. This occurs even at the expense of monetary rewards, perhaps explaining why self-deception and paranoia contribute to costly decisions which can spark financial crashes and devastating wars.
Topics: Bayes Theorem; Computational Biology; Deception; Decision Making; Humans; Models, Psychological; Paranoid Disorders; Reward; Self Concept; Uncertainty
PubMed: 34618805
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009453 -
The Journal of Analytical Psychology Apr 2024In his book Aion, Jung describes something like a quasi-Hegelian progressive historical realization of the Self in a perspective similar to Fernand Braudel's longue...
In his book Aion, Jung describes something like a quasi-Hegelian progressive historical realization of the Self in a perspective similar to Fernand Braudel's longue durée history. This article deals with a similar perspective, as it tries to focus on what we may call a "cultural complex" yet within its unfolding in historical time and belonging not to just one specific cultural group, but to a large cultural basin, which we may indicate as the "West". This complex marks the birth and development of modernity. The depth, pervasiveness and duration of this cultural complex permeates the lives and psychologies of all of those that are part of it. Therefore, every analytical project must take into account the underlying emotional, epistemic and social field within which this complex constellates. One of the main features of this (trans)cultural complex, strictly connected with the progressive fragmentation of the self and the transformation of the numinosum with its meaning-giving force, is paranoia. This article analyses the historical and cultural features that produce paranoia and fragmentation and determine paranoid symptoms and attitudes.
Topics: Humans; Paranoid Disorders; Emotions
PubMed: 38500344
DOI: 10.1111/1468-5922.12986 -
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology Sep 2020COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world from every aspect. Individuals are drained from social, financial, and emotional percussion of this pandemic. Psychosocial... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world from every aspect. Individuals are drained from social, financial, and emotional percussion of this pandemic. Psychosocial consequences are far greater than are being perceived. It is anticipated that once the pandemic is over the psycho-emotional turbulence would shake the whole populations of affected countries.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
To review the psychological consequences of COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS
A literature search was conducted on major databases from January 2020 to April 2020 with the search terms of Covid-19, Corona virus, psychological, depression, anxiety, phobias, obsessive behaviors, paranoia, parental relationship, marital life and maternal and fetal bond.
CONCLUSION
Patients with COVID-19 infection are more likely to suffer from a myriad of psychological consequences, and this infection may have profound effect on parenting, relationships, marital life, elderly, and maternal-fetal bond.
Topics: Age Factors; Anxiety; COVID-19; Depression; Female; Global Burden of Disease; Global Health; Health Personnel; Humans; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Male; Maternal Behavior; Maternal-Fetal Relations; Obsessive Behavior; Pandemics; Paranoid Disorders; Parenting; Phobic Disorders; Pregnancy; Risk Factors; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 33439544
DOI: 10.1111/jocd.13601 -
Clinical Psychology Review Dec 2021Negative self and negative other schema have been implicated in the development of paranoia. The current study provides a meta-analysis, narrative review and quality... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Negative self and negative other schema have been implicated in the development of paranoia. The current study provides a meta-analysis, narrative review and quality appraisal of quantitative studies investigating the relationship between negative self and negative other schema and paranoia across the paranoia continuum. A systematic search identified 43 eligible studies; 25 were included in the meta-analysis. Meta-analytic findings demonstrated a medium to large relationship between paranoia and negative self-schema (r = 0.46, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.53) and negative other schema (r = 0.48, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.56). The magnitude of associations was similar across people with and without psychosis. Findings demonstrated that associations between negative self-schema and paranoia were not always statistically significant when controlling for confounding variables, particularly depression. The association between negative other schema and paranoia tended to remain significant when controlling for confounding variables. Findings also demonstrated that negative schema may mediate relationships between adverse experiences in childhood and paranoia. Overall, findings support theoretical proposals that both negative self and negative other schema are associated with paranoia. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm the direction of effects. Findings provide support for incorporating and targeting negative self and negative other schema in psychological formulations and therapeutic work.
Topics: Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Paranoid Disorders; Psychotic Disorders; Self Concept
PubMed: 34564019
DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102081 -
La Revue Du Praticien Sep 2023PARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER. The paranoid personality disorder fascinates and worries health professionals, who are sometimes victims of aggressive claims from their...
PARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER. The paranoid personality disorder fascinates and worries health professionals, who are sometimes victims of aggressive claims from their patients. Overestimation of oneself, psychorigidity, distrust and relational hyperesthesia characterize the paranoid type of personality disorder. This disorder is often associated with co-morbidities which mask it and promote decompensation towards a delusional disorder with the risk of heteroaggressive acts or towards a severe depressive disorder with suicidal risk. On the basis of regular monitoring and exhaustive assesment, management requires rigor and balance in the sharing of information, the use of psychotropic drugs or hospitalization, if necessary, in compulsory care.
Topics: Humans; Paranoid Personality Disorder; Violence; Depressive Disorder; Comorbidity
PubMed: 37796270
DOI: No ID Found -
Current Opinion in Psychology Oct 2022Narcissism-a conviction about one's superiority and entitlement to special treatment-is a robust predictor of belief in conspiracy theories. Recent developments in the... (Review)
Review
Narcissism-a conviction about one's superiority and entitlement to special treatment-is a robust predictor of belief in conspiracy theories. Recent developments in the study of narcissism suggest that it has three components: antagonism, agentic extraversion, and neuroticism. We argue that each of these components of narcissism might predispose people to endorse conspiracy theories due to different psychological processes. Specifically, we discuss the role of paranoia, gullibility, and the needs for dominance, control, and uniqueness. We also review parallel findings for narcissistic beliefs about one's social groups. We consider the wider implications this research might have, especially for political leadership. We conclude by discussing outstanding questions about sharing conspiracy theories and other forms of misinformation.
Topics: Communication; Humans; Narcissism
PubMed: 35816915
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101386