title: 'Jumping to conclusions' in first-episode psychosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  People with psychotic symptoms are reported to have a characteristic reasoning style in which they jump to conclusions (JTC). The aims of this research were threefold. The first was to establish how prevalent this style is in people with first-episode psychosis. The second was to examine the specificity of JTC to delusions. The third was to examine explanatory factors that may account for the JTC style. This was investigated by attempting to replicate, with a large sample, previous studies indicating that JTC is associated with specific psychotic and non-psychotic symptoms and processes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-seven service users were recruited from a first-episode service and completed measures of reasoning and psychotic and non-psychotic symptomatologies. A well-established criterion was used to compare the JTC performance of those people with and without JTC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  JTC was present in over 40% of the sample, which is consistent with previous studies of people with long-standing psychotic symptoms. Unlike previous research, no strong associations were found in relation to symptoms and other processes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  JTC is a phenomenon common in many people in first-episode services. In this large cohort sample, no clear associations with symptoms or other psychological processes were evident. Hence, the reason people JTC is still unclear.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. r.e.j.dudley@ncl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dudley
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shaftoe
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cavanagh
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ormrod
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Turkington
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Freeston
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making; D003702:Delusions / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D057566:Self Report