Cognitive Gain or Handicap: Magical Ideation and Self-Absorption in Clinical and Non-clinical Participants.
János Kállai, Gábor Vincze, Imre András Török, Rita Hargitai, Sándor Rózsa, István Hartung, István Tamás, András Láng, Róbert Herold
Frontiers in Psychology February 26, 2021 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.613074 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional comparative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,078 |
| Population | 760 healthy community participants and 318 psychiatric patients (25 schizophrenia spectrum, 183 anxiety, 110 mood disorders) |
| Keywords | Mood disorders Anxiety disorders Schizophrenia spectrum disorders Magical thinking Self-boundaries Absorptive capability Socio-cognitive adaptation |
| Key findings | Magical ideation and absorption rose progressively from anxiety disorders to mood disorders to schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The authors propose that these traits serve as mental model construction functions that can yield both gains and handicaps in social adaptation, and that self-absorption-related consciousness traits mark self-integration weakness in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. |
Abstract
Background: This study aimed to examine magical ideation and absorption traits across non-clinical and clinical groups to determine their potential adaptive and maladaptive functions.
Method: We enrolled 760 healthy participants from neighboring communities (female = 53.2%). Moreover, we recruited 318 patients (female = 66.5%), which included 25, 183, and 110 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders, respectively. Potentially adaptive and maladaptive sociocognitive functions were measured to determine the role of magical ideation and self-absorption in patients with psychiatric disorders.
Results: The degree of magical ideation and absorption gradually increased in the following order: anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Furthermore, enhanced self-absorption-related enhanced consciousness traits were essential indicators of the presence of self-integration weakness in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Conclusion: Magical ideation and psychological absorption may be considered as mental model construction functions, which result in both gains and handicaps in social adaptation.
Citations in the library
Cites 9
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- Superior pattern processing is the essence of the evolved human brain Frontiers in Neuroscience August 22, 2014
- The Attentional Resource Allocation Scale (ARAS): psychometric properties of a composite measure for dissociation and absorption Depression and Anxiety February 23, 2010
- Prefrontal brain lesions reveal magical ideation arises from enhanced religious experiences. Peace and conflict : journal of peace psychology : the journal of the Division of Peace Psychology of the American Psychological Association May 1, 2018
- Immersion in altered experience: An investigation of the relationship between absorption and psychopathology. Consciousness and Cognition March 2017
and 4 more in the library