Paranoia is increasingly considered to be a common phenomenon in the general population and is not just a symptom of diagnosable psychiatric disorders. Recently, Ellett, Allen-Crooks, Stevens, Wildschut & Chadwick (2013) argued that distrust-based competition in the Prisoners Dilemma Game (PDG) is a novel behavioural marker for nonclinical paranoia. The present study sought to replicate the finding of Ellett et al. (2013) and to extend their research by looking to the social psychology literature on human values as additional potential motivations for competition in the PDG. Additionally, the study sought to examine relationships between paranoia in the nonclinical population and human values, and offer support for a recently refined theory of human values (Schwartz et al., 2012). Consistent with prediction, higher trait paranoia was associated with valuing face, that is, holding a commitment to security and power through maintaining one's public image and avoiding humiliation, and lower trait paranoia was associated with valuing universalism-tolerance, that is, showing acceptance and understanding for others. Secondly, and consistent with prediction, the current findings replicated that of Ellett et al. (2013) to show that distrust-based PDG competition is a behavioural marker for nonclinical paranoia. Thirdly, the present research offered a secondary behavioural marker for nonclinical paranoia based on a commitment to valuing power. Lastly, the study offered support for the circular structure of values in Schwartz's (2012) refined theory. Collectively, the current findings provided further evidence for the role of the PDG in the measurement and investigation of nonclinical paranoia, and more specifically provided a foundation for further research into the role that values could play in furthering this understanding.

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Thesis (D.N.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

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This study investigated the auditory and perceptual patterns of two schizophrenic groups. A paranoid group containing 10 males and 10 females was matched with a non-paranoid group and evaluated through the use of The Sound Test, an auditory projective test, and the Holtzman Inkblots, a visual projection technique. The results found no significant differences between groups on any variable. Trends were observed in the direction of the hypotheses when male response patterns were viewed separately. The results were discussed in terms of male and female response differences and chronicity as contaminating variables.

This thesis analyzes the production of conspiracy theories and paranoia within the realm of Internet newsmaking. Since the end of the Cold War, our traditional enemies have disappeared, and popular culture has embraced the conspiracy theory as their replacement. On the Internet, conspiracy theories are born, evolve and copied in a way unmatched by traditional forms of media. What makes the Internet such a successful conduit for paranoia-inspired narratives? In order to answer this question, I will examine the historical and technological facets of old and new media; how conspiracy theories disseminate through memetic behaviour and simulacra; and whether the media's recent obsession with paranoia is due to the Internet's commodification. The thesis will conclude by addressing whether our perception of the news has changed in the Internet age, and if conspiracy theories offer the possibility of narrative closure in a medium built on non-linear structure.

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia. / Made available in DSpace on 2012-10-21T07:25:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Apresentação do tratamento analítico de uma mulher diagnosticada como psicótica, que pergunta "estou louca ou tenho poderes paranormais?" e da leitura psicanalítica dos textos de Freud no que diz de sua teoria da paranóia e do que chama de fenômenos "maravilhosos e fantásticos": a telepatia, previsão do futuro ou sonhos premonitórios, o déjà vu, o déjà racconté, os encontros singulares, a casualidade e supertição; sua posição perante ao ocultismo, os adivinhos, quiromantes, astrólogos; o caso P., um de seus pacientes em análise, que teria captado seus pensamentos, e por Lacan, sua teoria da psicose, e sua leitura dos textos de Freud sobre telepatia. A partir do caso e da leitura dos textos se sustenta a possibilidade de uma escuta analítica da telepatia como fato da percepção ao serviço do desejo inconsciente

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This thesis has been prepared in paper based format. The thesis focusses of the use of experimental manipulations in the investigation of paranoia and extends the use of these to an empirical investigation of the role of attachment theory in paranoia. Papers 1 and 2 have been prepared for submission to Clinical Psychology Review and Schizophrenia Bulletin respectively. Paper 1 provides a comprehensive overview of experimental paradigms that aim to induce or manipulate paranoid thinking in both clinical and analogue samples. Twenty-seven studies were identified that satisfied inclusion criteria for the review. The strengths, limitations, effectiveness of individual paradigms, as well as of the literature as a whole, are considered throughout the review and recommendations for future research are made. Theoretical and clinical implications are also discussed.Paper 2 reports an experimental analogue in which participants (N=60) were randomised to a secure attachment prime (or neutral/positive affect control) condition before being exposed to a paranoia induction paradigm. Dispositional levels of insecure attachment were associated with both trait and state paranoid thinking. Contrary to predictions, the secure attachment prime did not appear to buffer paranoid thinking. The secure attachment prime was indicated to have a negative impact for people with high levels of attachment anxiety, who experienced higher levels of paranoia following the paranoia induction. Paper 3 is a critical reflection of the submitted papers and research process as a whole. The strengths and limitations of the presented research, methodological considerations and implications for clinical practice and theory are discussed and directions for future research are highlighted.

This thesis aims to examine the Tea Party movement from the context of Richard Hofstadter's writings on the paranoid style in American politics. The findings in this study suggest that the Tea Party is something of a paranoid movement, and it suggests that factors for individual paranoid political behavior within this movement are a result of Evangelical fundamentalism, the uses of social media and algorithmic targeting, anxiety towards outgroups, and the machinations of the modern media. An exploration of the origins of the Tea Party and its impacts on the American political system is conducted in order to define and observe the movement as a modern political phenomenon. This grassroots movement is to a large degree responsible for the Republican Party's continued move towards the far right, and it has caused infighting amongst Congressional Tea Partiers and moderate Republicans for influence within the party. These findings reinforce observations of Republican retrenchment and further leanings to the far right of the American political spectrum. This theory is of value since it offers an understanding of the political phenomena occurring within the Republican Party in the form of the Tea Party and allows the field of Political Science to examine and apply the effects of new forms of communication. Social media and the algorithms applied to individual online activity has grave impacts with regards to predicting political behavior and factors that contribute to the formation of an individual's political beliefs. Concluding theoretical assumptions depict the new forms of mass media as one key factor responsible for altering the way individuals consume and process information thus resulting in the continued rise of far right conservative ideology within the Tea Party. / Master of Arts