An Unreasoned Approach: A Critique of Research on Reasoning and Delusions

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Abstract
The possibility that reasoning abnormalities may be implicated in schizophrenic delusions has been investigated in recent research. Although some researchers have found evidence for such problems (e.g. Garety, Hemsley, & Wessely, 1991) and others have not (e.g. Bentall & Young, 1996), there is a common assumption that the nature of reasoning in one domain is at least indicative of reasoning across domains and, furthermore, that a reasoning abnormality can be reliably demonstrated. We propose that these are misleading assumptions and provide arguments from several different areas-the fractionation of abilities, whether ''normative'' criteria for good and poor reasoning actually exist, content-specific effects in reasoning, the limitations of ''neutral'' tests and findings from the field of social cognition and research on the self. By applying findings from research in the field of normal cognition, we conclude that reasoning is heterogeneous and question whether a cognitive-neuropsychological approach to the investigation of reasoning defects in deluded patients is tenable.

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