Illusory superiority and schizotypal personality: explaining the discrepancy between subjective/objective psychopathology. 2014

Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University.

An interesting paradox has emerged from the literature regarding schizotypy--defined as the personality organization reflecting a putative liability for schizophrenia--spectrum disorders. Across certain cognitive, emotional, quality of life, and other functional variables, individuals with schizotypy report experiencing relatively severe levels of pathology. However, on objective tests of these same variables, individuals with schizotypy perform largely in the healthy range. These subjective impairments are paradoxical in that individuals with schizotypy, typically recruited from undergraduate college populations, should be healthier in virtually every conceivable measure compared to chronic, older outpatients with severe mental illness. The present study evaluated the idea that the subjective deficits associated with schizotypy largely reflect a lack of illusory superiority bias-a normally occurring bias associated with an overestimation of self-reported positive qualities and underestimation of negative qualities compared to others. In the present study, both state-measured using laboratory emotion-induction methods-and trait positive and negative emotion was assessed across self (e.g., how do you feel at this moment?) and other (e.g., how do most people feel at this moment?) domains in 39 individuals with self-reported schizotypy and 39 matched controls. Controls demonstrated an illusory superiority effect across both state and trait measures whereas individuals with schizotypy did not. These results were not explained by severity of mental health symptoms. These results suggest that a cognitive bias, or lack thereof, is a marker of schizotypy and a potential target for further research and therapy.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D011795 Surveys and Questionnaires Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions. Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D004644 Emotions Those affective states which can be experienced and have arousing and motivational properties. Feelings,Regret,Emotion,Feeling,Regrets
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D012569 Schizotypal Personality Disorder A personality disorder in which there are oddities of thought (magical thinking, paranoid ideation, suspiciousness), perception (illusions, depersonalization), speech (digressive, vague, overelaborate), and behavior (inappropriate affect in social interactions, frequently social isolation) that are not severe enough to characterize schizophrenia. Incipient Schizophrenia,Latent Schizophrenia,Personality Disorder, Schizotypal,Pseudoneurotic Schizophrenia,Pseudopsychopathic Schizophrenia,Schizophrenia, Borderline,Schizophrenia, Latent,Schizophrenia, Pseudoneurotic,Borderline Schizophrenia,Borderline Schizophrenias,Disorder, Schizotypal Personality,Disorders, Schizotypal Personality,Incipient Schizophrenias,Latent Schizophrenias,Personality Disorders, Schizotypal,Pseudoneurotic Schizophrenias,Pseudopsychopathic Schizophrenias,Schizophrenia, Incipient,Schizophrenia, Pseudopsychopathic,Schizophrenias, Borderline,Schizophrenias, Incipient,Schizophrenias, Latent,Schizophrenias, Pseudoneurotic,Schizophrenias, Pseudopsychopathic,Schizotypal Personality Disorders
D013334 Students Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program. School Enrollment,Enrollment, School,Enrollments, School,School Enrollments,Student
D016022 Case-Control Studies Comparisons that start with the identification of persons with the disease or outcome of interest and a control (comparison, referent) group without the disease or outcome of interest. The relationship of an attribute is examined by comparing both groups with regard to the frequency or levels of outcome over time. Case-Base Studies,Case-Comparison Studies,Case-Referent Studies,Matched Case-Control Studies,Nested Case-Control Studies,Case Control Studies,Case-Compeer Studies,Case-Referrent Studies,Case Base Studies,Case Comparison Studies,Case Control Study,Case Referent Studies,Case Referrent Studies,Case-Comparison Study,Case-Control Studies, Matched,Case-Control Studies, Nested,Case-Control Study,Case-Control Study, Matched,Case-Control Study, Nested,Case-Referent Study,Case-Referrent Study,Matched Case Control Studies,Matched Case-Control Study,Nested Case Control Studies,Nested Case-Control Study,Studies, Case Control,Studies, Case-Base,Studies, Case-Comparison,Studies, Case-Compeer,Studies, Case-Control,Studies, Case-Referent,Studies, Case-Referrent,Studies, Matched Case-Control,Studies, Nested Case-Control,Study, Case Control,Study, Case-Comparison,Study, Case-Control,Study, Case-Referent,Study, Case-Referrent,Study, Matched Case-Control,Study, Nested Case-Control
D055815 Young Adult A person between 19 and 24 years of age. Adult, Young,Adults, Young,Young Adults

Related Publications

Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
January 1974, Scandinavian journal of dental research,
Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
August 2022, Sleep medicine,
Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
October 2016, Medical archives (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina),
Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
January 2000, Journal of psychiatric research,
Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
June 2003, Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences,
Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
January 2019, European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology,
Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
September 2007, Sleep,
Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
January 2022, Journal of clinical gastroenterology,
Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
January 2020, Behavioral sleep medicine,
Alex S Cohen, and Tracey L Auster, and Rebecca K MacAulay, and Jessica E McGovern
November 2010, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health,
Copied contents to your clipboard!