An experimental investigation of odd beliefs: individual differences in non-normative belief conviction

Two competing theories for the endorsement of odd beliefs were tested withi n an experimental setting. After completing a pursuit rotor task and receiv ing either expectancy-confirming or disconfirming performance feedback, par ticipants were asked to rate their conviction in a series of causal attribu tions that had been assessed by judges with regard to belief normativeness. The psychosis proneness scores of 163 (89 male and 74 female) college stud ents were found to predict the concurrent endorsement of empirically define d abnormal/odd causal attributions, even after controlling for depression s cores. However, conviction ratings were unrelated to both the endorsement o f normal causal attributions and to the expectancy confirming/disconfirming nature of the performance feedback. The results demonstrate, within an ana log experiment, the relative importance of individual differences in the en dorsement of non-normative beliefs. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All righ ts reserved.