Exploring two computerised packages for worries about being harmed v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the differential efficacy of Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretation and the Maudsley Review Training Programme on social anxiety and reasoning biases in individuals with persecutory delusions: a single case series.
IRAS ID
120141
Contact name
James Hurley
Contact email
Research summary
Persecutory delusions are defined as fixed, false and inflexible beliefs that others are engaging in a plot or plan to harm an individual. They are the second most common symptom in psychosis and can be extremely disabling to the individual. Cognitive models implicate social anxiety and reasoning biases in the formation and maintenance of persecutory delusions (Garety et al, 2005). Previous research has examined the use of computer-based paradigms in the treatment of social anxiety (Turner et al, 2011) and reasoning biases (Waller et al, 2011). Some researchers claim that social anxiety may be maintained by a tendency to misinterpret ambiguous scenarios in a social setting, resulting in increased perception of social threat. In their study, Turner et al (2011) targeted social anxiety by practicing positive interpretations of ambiguous social scenarios using a computer-delivered package, known as cognitive bias modification for interpretation (CBM-I). Reasoning biases found to reliably occur in delusions research includes the jumping to conclusions bias (JTC), which means that people with delusions tend to make decisions based on insufficient evidence more often than matched controls (Garety et al, 2005). From this, Waller et al (2011) designed a computer package which trains participants to slow down and gather more information before coming to a conclusion, called the Maudsley Review Training Programme (MRTP). This research builds on previous research by using both packages to test both mechanisms of persecutory delusions (social anxiety and reasoning biases) simultaneously for the first time, in the hope that each package will act differentially on each mechanism, i.e. CBM-I acts only on social anxiety, not reasoning biases and MRTP acts only on reasoning biases, not social anxiety. It is also anticipated that both packages will also improve paranoia, an important clinical feature of persecutory delusions.
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/EE/0134
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jun 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion