The Continuum of Cognitive Processes
The aim of the Continuum of Cognitive Processes research group is to further our understanding of the range of cognitive processes which we all experience.
Key areas of interest
There are a number of strands to this research theme. A key priority for the Continuum of Cognitive Processes research group is to further our understanding of a continuum model of experiences (thoughts, feelings and behaviours) that are traditionally conceptualised as ‘psychosis’. Research into spectrum and stress-vulnerability models of psychosis has the potential to enhance our understanding of these sorts of experiences in the general population, as well as promoting a normalising and non-stigmatising approach to mental health problems and treatment.
An additional main strand of research in this group is the experience of intrusive thoughts across clinical and nonclinical groups. Research into the similarities and differences between clinical intrusive thoughts and their nonclinical counterparts increases our understanding of how distress is linked to these experiences. A current interest is how individual differences in attentional processes impact upon the re-experiencing of intrusive thoughts and subsequent appraisal of the experience. In addition, mindfulness may provide a way of altering these attentional processes and thus subsequent distress.
The Continuum of Cognitive Processes research group is interested in exploring these concepts and models across the lifespan, including anxiety in childhood, early intervention in later childhood and adolescence, and paranoia across adult and older-adulthood.
Some of the topics and research questions we are currently working on include:
- How does spirituality influence people’s experience of and/or recovery from psychosis?
- How do different cultural groups conceptualise and make sense of psychotic experiences?
- How does early adversity or trauma impact on psychological development and modify people’s risk of developing psychosis?
- Which normal psychological processes are involved in the onset and maintenance of individual psychotic symptoms or experiences, acting as cognitive mediators between early life experiences and psychosis (e.g., self-esteem, attributional style, theory of mind, social reasoning skills)?
- How might social rank fit into existing psychosocial models of psychotic experiences?
- Which psychological processes contribute to personal resilience in the face of trauma/adversity?
- How do intrusive thought experiences differ across traditional clinical and nonclinical groups?
- Are there individual differences in attentional processes that can increase vulnerability to re-experiencing intrusive thoughts?
- Can mindfulness and acceptance alter the experience of intrusive thoughts?
- How does distress develop toward intrusive thought experiences? Can early intervention in childhood alter these processes?
- How do attentional processes differ across clinical and non-clinical groups?
- How do dispositional factors such as attachment style influence attentional processes towards emotional, and particularly threatening stimuli?
Staff undertaking research in this area
| Name | Summary of thematic area | Key collaborators |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Georgina Rowse | Experiences traditionally conceptualised as psychosis; continuum model, normalisation, the role of life adversity and resilience. Substance Use and related psychological issues. | Early Intervention Service, Sheffield; Professor Richard Bentall, University of Bangor; Associate Professor Rhiannon Corcoran, University of Nottingham; Graham Cockshutt, Service User Employment Scheme; Sheffield Coroner’s Office, Coroner Chris Dorries; Professor Nigel Mathers, Phillip Oliver – Addiction Research Unit, Uni. of Sheffield; Dr Jenny Keen, Primary Care GP Lead in Methadone Maintenance |
| Dr Lisa-Marie Berry | Intrusive thoughts as a continuum experience; thought suppression and mindfulness; attentional processes in intrusive thoughts and coping. | Professor Jackie Andrade and Professor Jon Mat, Plymouth University; Professor David Kavanagh, Queensland University of Technology; Dr Ben Laskey, Clinical Psychologist |
| Dr Anastasia Lavda | Attentional biases, threat, anxiety, the role of attachment in threat processing, transdiagnostic cognitive interventions to alleviate emotional distress and promote coping. |
Dr Abigail Millings; Dr Andrew Thompson |
Current DClin Psy Trainee Projects 2011-12
- Defensive function of persecutory delusions (Alisa Udachina, supervised by Dr Georgina Rowse)
- Psychotic-like experiences in pregnancy and the early postpartum period: Link to the continuum model of psychosis (Aisling Mannion, supervised by Dr Rebecca Knowles & Prof Pauline Slade)
- A preliminary investigation of “theory of mind” and “attributional style” in adults with grandiose delusions (Paul Boyden, supervised by Dr Rebecca Knowles & Dr Georgina Rowse)
- First person accounts of grandiose delusions: A grounded theory approach (Sanela Grbic, supervised by Dr Rebecca Knowles & Prof Gillian Hardy)