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Article

Belief Inflexibility and Cognitive Biases in Anorexia Nervosa—The Role of the Bias against Disconfirmatory Evidence and Its Clinical and Neuropsychological Correlates

by
Elena Tenconi
1,2,*,
Valentina Meregalli
1,2,
Adriana Buffa
1,
Enrico Collantoni
1,
Roberto Cavallaro
3,4,
Paolo Meneguzzo
1 and
Angela Favaro
1,2
1
Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
2
Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, 35129 Padova, Italy
3
School of Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy
4
IRCCS San Raffaele Turro, Scientific Institute Hospital, 20127 Milan, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(5), 1746; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12051746
Submission received: 29 January 2023 / Revised: 18 February 2023 / Accepted: 20 February 2023 / Published: 22 February 2023
(This article belongs to the Section Mental Health)
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore, in a sample of patients with a diagnosis of AN, the ability to question their first impression and, in particular, the willingness to integrate their prior ideas and thoughts with additional progressive incoming information. A total of 45 healthy women and 103 patients with a diagnosis of AN, consecutively admitted to the Eating Disorder Padova Hospital–University Unit, underwent a broad clinical and neuropsychological assessment. All participants were administered the Bias Against Disconfirmatory Evidence (BADE) task, which specifically investigates belief integration cognitive bias. Acute AN patients showed a significantly greater bias toward disconfirming their previous judgment, in comparison to healthy women (BADE score, respectively, 2.5 ± 2.0 vs. 3.3 ± 1.6; Mann–Whitney test, p = 0.012). A binge-eating/purging subtype of AN individuals, compared to restrictive AN patients and controls, showed greater disconfirmatory bias and also a significant propensity to uncritically accept implausible interpretations (BADE score, respectively, 1.55 ± 1.6 and 2.70 ± 1.97 vs. 3.33 ± 1.63; Kruskal–Wallis test, p = 0.002 and liberal acceptance score, respectively, 1.32 ± 0.93 and 0.92 ± 1.21 vs. 0.98 ± 0.75; Kruskal–Wallis test p = 0.03). Abstract thinking skills and cognitive flexibility, as well as high central coherence, are neuropsychological aspects positively correlated with cognitive bias, in both patients and controls. Research into belief integration bias in AN population could enable us to shed light on hidden dimensional aspects, facilitating a better understanding of the psychopathology of a disorder that is so complex and difficult to treat.
Keywords: anorexia nervosa; cognitive bias; bias against disconfirmatory evidence (BADE); bias against confirmatory evidence (BACE); liberal acceptance; neuropsychology anorexia nervosa; cognitive bias; bias against disconfirmatory evidence (BADE); bias against confirmatory evidence (BACE); liberal acceptance; neuropsychology

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MDPI and ACS Style

Tenconi, E.; Meregalli, V.; Buffa, A.; Collantoni, E.; Cavallaro, R.; Meneguzzo, P.; Favaro, A. Belief Inflexibility and Cognitive Biases in Anorexia Nervosa—The Role of the Bias against Disconfirmatory Evidence and Its Clinical and Neuropsychological Correlates. J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12, 1746. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12051746

AMA Style

Tenconi E, Meregalli V, Buffa A, Collantoni E, Cavallaro R, Meneguzzo P, Favaro A. Belief Inflexibility and Cognitive Biases in Anorexia Nervosa—The Role of the Bias against Disconfirmatory Evidence and Its Clinical and Neuropsychological Correlates. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2023; 12(5):1746. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12051746

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tenconi, Elena, Valentina Meregalli, Adriana Buffa, Enrico Collantoni, Roberto Cavallaro, Paolo Meneguzzo, and Angela Favaro. 2023. "Belief Inflexibility and Cognitive Biases in Anorexia Nervosa—The Role of the Bias against Disconfirmatory Evidence and Its Clinical and Neuropsychological Correlates" Journal of Clinical Medicine 12, no. 5: 1746. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12051746

APA Style

Tenconi, E., Meregalli, V., Buffa, A., Collantoni, E., Cavallaro, R., Meneguzzo, P., & Favaro, A. (2023). Belief Inflexibility and Cognitive Biases in Anorexia Nervosa—The Role of the Bias against Disconfirmatory Evidence and Its Clinical and Neuropsychological Correlates. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(5), 1746. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12051746

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