Joan C Craig
University of Windsor, Canada
Title: Positive thought-action fusion: Possible implications for positive psychology
Biography
Biography: Joan C Craig
Abstract
Positive thought-action fusion is a cognitive bias that has only recently been identified as an independent construct. This bias is related to, but distinct from the thought-action fusion bias that has been examined in work on obsessive-compulsive disorder and various other clinical disorders, such as anxiety. Positive thought-action fusion is a bias in which a person believes that his or her personal thoughts regarding positive outcomes can have an influence on real-life events. For example, a person may think that he will win the lottery and he believes that this thought has actually improved his chance of winning. Similarly, a person may think that she can get away with cheating on an exam and she believes that this thought has actually improved her chance of getting away with cheating. The author will discuss the results from a full psychometric evaluation of this construct including the development of a valid scale for measurement and the distinctions found between this cognitive bias and other constructs, such as hope and positive thinking. An open discussion will follow the presentation to provide an opportunity for the presenter and conference attendees to discuss the possible implications of positive thought-action fusion in the field of positive psychology.