The tendency to stop collecting information is linked to illusions of causality
Abstract Previous research proposed that cognitive biases contribute to produce and maintain the symptoms exhibited by deluded patients. Specifically, the tendency to jump to conclusions (i.e., to stop collecting evidence soon before making a decision) has been claimed to contribute to delusion form...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82075-w |
| _version_ | 1818683804783476736 |
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| author | María Manuela Moreno-Fernández Fernando Blanco Helena Matute |
| author_facet | María Manuela Moreno-Fernández Fernando Blanco Helena Matute |
| author_sort | María Manuela Moreno-Fernández |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Previous research proposed that cognitive biases contribute to produce and maintain the symptoms exhibited by deluded patients. Specifically, the tendency to jump to conclusions (i.e., to stop collecting evidence soon before making a decision) has been claimed to contribute to delusion formation. Additionally, deluded patients show an abnormal understanding of cause-effect relationships, often leading to causal illusions (i.e., the belief that two events are causally connected, when they are not). Both types of bias appear in psychotic disorders, but also in healthy individuals. In two studies, we test the hypothesis that the two biases (jumping to conclusions and causal illusions) appear in the general population and correlate with each other. The rationale is based on current theories of associative learning that explain causal illusions as the result of a learning bias that tends to wear off as additional information is incorporated. We propose that participants with higher tendency to jump to conclusions will stop collecting information sooner in a causal learning study than those participants with lower tendency to jump to conclusions, which means that the former will not reach the learning asymptote, leading to biased judgments. The studies provide evidence in favour that the two biases are correlated but suggest that the proposed mechanism is not responsible for this association. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T10:40:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f9b395cf248e4d0e874e5b4539b0d8c0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T10:40:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-f9b395cf248e4d0e874e5b4539b0d8c02022-12-21T21:52:16ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-02-0111111510.1038/s41598-021-82075-wThe tendency to stop collecting information is linked to illusions of causalityMaría Manuela Moreno-Fernández0Fernando Blanco1Helena Matute2Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of GranadaDepartment of Methods and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of DeustoDepartment of Methods and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of DeustoAbstract Previous research proposed that cognitive biases contribute to produce and maintain the symptoms exhibited by deluded patients. Specifically, the tendency to jump to conclusions (i.e., to stop collecting evidence soon before making a decision) has been claimed to contribute to delusion formation. Additionally, deluded patients show an abnormal understanding of cause-effect relationships, often leading to causal illusions (i.e., the belief that two events are causally connected, when they are not). Both types of bias appear in psychotic disorders, but also in healthy individuals. In two studies, we test the hypothesis that the two biases (jumping to conclusions and causal illusions) appear in the general population and correlate with each other. The rationale is based on current theories of associative learning that explain causal illusions as the result of a learning bias that tends to wear off as additional information is incorporated. We propose that participants with higher tendency to jump to conclusions will stop collecting information sooner in a causal learning study than those participants with lower tendency to jump to conclusions, which means that the former will not reach the learning asymptote, leading to biased judgments. The studies provide evidence in favour that the two biases are correlated but suggest that the proposed mechanism is not responsible for this association.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82075-w |
| spellingShingle | María Manuela Moreno-Fernández Fernando Blanco Helena Matute The tendency to stop collecting information is linked to illusions of causality Scientific Reports |
| title | The tendency to stop collecting information is linked to illusions of causality |
| title_full | The tendency to stop collecting information is linked to illusions of causality |
| title_fullStr | The tendency to stop collecting information is linked to illusions of causality |
| title_full_unstemmed | The tendency to stop collecting information is linked to illusions of causality |
| title_short | The tendency to stop collecting information is linked to illusions of causality |
| title_sort | tendency to stop collecting information is linked to illusions of causality |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82075-w |
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