BACKGROUND A preliminary report by the authors suggested that the range of affect generated by voices (anger, fear, elation) was linked not to the form, content or topography of voice activity, but to the beliefs patients held about them, in particular their supposed power and authority. We argued that this conformed to a cognitive model; that is, voice beliefs represent an attempt to understan...

As has been seen in this volume thus far, a great deal of work in cognitive therapy is geared toward the identification, evaluation, and modification of situational thoughts (i.e., automatic thoughts) that patients experience on particular occasions and that are associated with an increase in an aversive mood state. Although they usually obtain significant relief from their mood disturbance usi...

The role that cognitive processing of a recent trauma has in the occurrence of hallucinations has not been examined longitudinally. This study investigated trauma-related cognitive predictors of hallucinations in the months following an interpersonal assault. Four weeks after treatment at an emergency department for interpersonal assault injuries, 106 participants were assessed for peri-traumat...

One of the central assumptions of cognitive therapy is that psychological disorders are caused, at least in part, by dysfunctional beliefs. One of the goals of therapy is therefore to modify these beliefs or to replace them by more adaptive ones. Among other treatments, this cognitive strategy has proved clinically successful in a number of cases. The efficacy of belief modification in cognitiv...

BACKGROUND A wide variety of cognitive concepts have been shown to play an important role in chronic widespread pain (CWP). Although these concepts are generally considered to be distinct entities, some might in fact be highly overlapping. The objectives of this study were to (i) to establish inter-relationships between self-efficacy, cognitive coping styles, fear-avoidance cognitions and illne...

In this article I discuss the subjective rationality of xenophobic and racist beliefs. Although such beliefs are mostly non-rational from an objective perspective, because of their incongruence with reality, under certain conditions they may appear rational from people’s subjective point of view – in particular in situations of uncertainty. The reason for this is mainly cognitive limitations an...

Previous research showed that individual tendency to believe in conspiracy theories is related to numerous social, personality, and cognitive variables. Moreover, such a tendency may reflect a broader trait for epistemic irrationality, which drives other pseudoscientific and paranormal beliefs. However, the relationship between conspiracy belief and reasoning ability (fluid intelligence; Gf) wa...