Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law

scans. If the delusions do not appear to be related to an

organic cause, then the patient should undergo an

evaluation by a psychiatrist or a psychologist. This eval-

uation will generally involve an interview and psycho-

logical assessment. There are several instruments

that are used by psychologists to assess delusions.

These include the MacArthur-Maudsley Delusions

Assessment Schedule, the Brown Assessment of Beliefs

Scale, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and

the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms.

Treatment of Delusions

Delusions that are symptoms of schizophrenia will

generally respond to treatment with antipsychotic

medications such as thioridazine, clozapine, haloperi-

dol, or risperidone. Delusions that are not associated

with schizophrenia may not respond to antipsychotic

medications, and in those cases, medications other

than, or in addition to, antipsychotic medications

should be used. Delusions that are symptoms of a

mood disorder should be treated with antipsychotic

medications as well as antidepressants or mood stabi-

lizers. If the etiology of the delusions is medical, then

resolution of the medical disorder should alleviate the

delusional symptoms. Additionally, cognitive therapy

has been recommended as an adjunctive therapy for

individuals who experience delusions.

Elizabeth L. Jeglic

See alsoHallucinations; Mental Health Courts; Police

Interaction With Mentally Ill Individuals; Violence Risk

Assessment

Further Readings

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and

Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(4th ed., text

revision). Washington, DC: Author.

Appelbaum, P. S., Robbins, P. C., & Monahan, J. (2000).

Violence and delusions: Data from the MacArthur

Violence Risk Assessment Study. American Journal of

Psychiatry, 157,566–572.

Eisen, J. L., Phillips, K. A., Baer, L., Beer, D. A., Atala, K. D.,

& Rasmussen, S. A. (1998). The Brown Assessment of

Beliefs Scale: Reliability and validity. American Journal

of Psychiatry, 155(1),102–108.

Leeser, J., & O’Donohue, W. (1999). What is a delusion?

Epistemological dimensions. Journal of Abnormal

Psychology, 108,687–694.

Mullen, P. E., & Pathe, M. (1994). The pathological

extensions of love.British Journal of Psychiatry,

165,614–623.

Smith, N., Freeman, D., & Kuipers, E. (2005). Grandiose

delusions: An experimental investigation of the

delusion as defense. Journal of Mental Disorders,

193 (7), 480–487.

DETECTION OFDECEPTION:

COGNITIVELOAD

Cognitive load interview protocols are designed to

make interviews more demanding for suspects. This

increased demand has a greater effect on liars than on

truth tellers because liars already find being inter-

viewed more mentally taxing than do truth tellers. The

result is that cognitive load interview protocols facili-

tate discrimination between liars and truth tellers.

Lying in an interview setting is often more cogni-

tively demanding than truth telling. First, formulating

the lie itself is cognitively taxing. Liars need to make up

their stories while monitoring their fabrications so that

they are plausible and adhere to everything the observer

knows or might find out. In addition, liars must remem-

ber their earlier statements and know what they told to

whom, so that they appear consistent when retelling

their story. Liars should also avoid making slips of the

tongue and should refrain from providing new leads to

investigators. Second, liars are typically less likely than

truth tellers to take their own credibility for granted, in

part because truth tellers typically assume that their

innocence will shine through. As such, liars will be

more inclined than truth tellers to be conscious of, and

hence monitor and control, their demeanor so that they

will appear honest to the lie detector. Monitoring and

controlling one’s own demeanor are cognitively demand-

ing. Third, because liars do not take their credibility for

granted, they may monitor the interviewer’s reactions

more carefully to assess whether they are getting away

with their lie. Carefully monitoring the interviewer also

requires cognitive resources. Fourth, liars may be pre-

occupied with the task of reminding themselves to act

and role-play, which requires extra cognitive effort.

Fifth, liars have to suppress the truth while they are

lying, and this is also cognitively demanding. Finally,

whereas activating the truth often happens automati-

cally, activating a lie is more intentional and deliberate

and thus requires mental effort.

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