Matt Boden holds a PhD in clinical psychology and is a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University. Matt Boden completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the mentorship of Howard Berenbaum, Ph.D. He completed his clinical internship at the Veterans Administration, Palo Alto Health Care System. He is a member of the Stanford Psychophysiology Lab, under the direction of James Gross Ph.D., and the Depression Research Clinic, under the direction of Alan Schatzberg, M.D. Matt Boden uses both acceptance and change-oriented therapies to treat psychosis and emotion dysregulation, in his clinical work.
Anomalous beliefs (e.g., belief in UFO’s, Psi, and angels) are known for being associated with various types of psychopathology, such as Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD). However, according to nation-wide polls, a substantial portion of the population holds anomalous beliefs, suggesting that these beliefs are neither categorically maladaptive nor representative of psychopathology. Although there are sound theoretical reasons and empirical suggestions as to why anomalous beliefs might be adaptive, very little empirical research has addressed this topic. In response, I conducted a study that found that strongly held anomalous beliefs tended to be perceived as being important, having a positive impact on various aspects of participants’ lives, and clarifying their understanding of themselves and the world (Boden & Berenbaum, 2004). It was also found the more the anomalous belief had a positive impact and provided understanding, the less psychological distress participants experienced, and these associations were moderated by individual differences in emotional awareness (i.e., the extent to which people attended to and understood their emotions). These results suggest:
(a) anomalous beliefs are potentially adaptive when they serve beneficial functions in people’s lives, such as making sense of the world and providing meaning; and
(b) the potential adaptivity of anomalous beliefs is closely related to emotional experience.
My colleagues and I are collecting data via internet-based survey to further investigate the functions and emotional correlates of anomalous beliefs in a large and diverse sample. It is important to obtain data from a large sample so that we can comprehensively map the functions of these beliefs. We hypothesize that for some individuals, anomalous beliefs may provide understanding of specific experiences, whereas for others they may help regulate emotions in the face of threatening information (e.g., an individual contemplates her belief in angels as she watches a loved one die). It is also important to obtain data from a diverse sample because, as mentioned before, a substantial portion of the population hold anomalous beliefs, and yet most of the research conducted on these beliefs is conducted with individuals suffering from psychiatric disorders and distress (e.g., SPD). Clearly, research on these beliefs could benefit from expansion to populations that are successful in their professional and personal lives, well educated, and relatively mentally healthy. As members of the Society for Scientific Exploration, with diverse backgrounds and beliefs, we hope that you can participate in our survey by visiting the webpage, http//www.matthewboden.com.
To complete the survey, please visit: http//www.matthewboden.com/survey.php
Reference: Boden, M. T. & Berenbaum, H. (2004). The potentially adaptive features of peculiar beliefs. Personality & Individual Differences, 37, 707-719.
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