Belief flexibility and paranoia in First Episode of Psychosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Belief flexibility, social learning and paranoia in support-seeking patients with First Episode of Psychosis
IRAS ID
320786
Contact name
Huynh (Jen) Nguyen
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Holloway, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 26 days
Research summary
Paranoia is an unfounded and exaggerated belief that others intend to cause one harm. Paranoia is one of the most common symptoms of psychotic disorders, and strongly connected to perceived hostility, loneliness, and rejection across different diagnoses. It is also related to significant distress and disruption in life. However, current treatment is not effective for most people who suffer. It is both a clinical and research priority to understand the key mechanisms that underlie paranoia to inform more effective treatments.
In the general population, research suggests that paranoia can be explained by the way that people learn about others. For example, people with higher levels of paranoia tend to be more uncertain in their beliefs about other people’s intentions, particularly with others who have ambiguous intentions. Recent work shows this might be due to people being sure about their own sense of self, and this might lead to difficulties learning about others.
In this study, we will invite support-seeking First-Episode-Psychosis (FEP) participants and participants in the general population to play online interactive games against anonymous partners. Using AI models will help us understand how paranoia in FEP may be maintained by uncertainty and the self and others’ internal states. Our research questions are:
1. Compared to those in the general population, is increased paranoia in individuals with FEP associated with a poorer ability to adapt and modify beliefs about others?
2. Compared to those in the general population, is increased paranoia in individuals with FEP associated with higher uncertainty over self-preferences and beliefs?
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0400
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion