Developmental Experiences in the Prediction of Thought Action Fusion: Contribution of Religious, Familial, and Stress Factors

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Berman, Noah Chase
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

Abstract

Cognitive biases, such as TAF, play a crucial role in the cognitive-behavioral model of anxiety disorders and have been shown to prospectively increase the risk of developing future psychopathology. However, little research has examined the risk factors for this theoretically important construct. Therefore, the current study examined the developmental correlates of TAF using a multi-method approach. Using both a self-report (N =407) and in vivo measure of TAF (N = 107), results indicated that religious-related variables predicted the moral bias of TAF, whereas parenting strategies and childhood trauma were associated with the likelihood bias. Distinct mediation pathways were observed, with intrinsic motivation mediating the relationship between religiosity and the moral bias; and psychological control mediating the relationship between childhood traumas and the likelihood bias. Despite these effects, comprehensive models predicting both biases were severely misfit. Results suggest that unique developmental correlates are associated with the moral and likelihood biases, and given the amount of variance unexplained by our models, other biological, psychosocial, and cultural variables need to be evaluated. Our findings are discussed in terms of developmental psychopathology and limitations are addressed.

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