Jumping to conclusions and delusion formation in psychosis: a critical analysis [salto a conclusiones y formación de delirios en psicosis: un análisis crítico]

Delusions are one of the most complex symptoms of schizophrenic psychosis. The two-factor approach — one of the most popular approaches to the etiology of delusions in current neuropsychiatry — proposes the existence of experiential (factor 1) and cognitive (factor 2) alterations that, in interaction, would lead to the production of the symptom. One of the most referred cognitive alterations within this explanatory framework is the jumping to conclusions bias (JTC), namely, the tendency to arrive at conclusions without having sufficient evidence for them. This article offers a narrative review that, after clarifying the explanatory structure of the two-factor model, examines and critically evaluates the evidence used by the approach to stablish the JTC bias as one of the main cognitive alterations in the process of formation of delusions in psychosis and therefore, as empirical support in favor of the approach.