Thought-action fusion explained
Thought-action fusion should not be confused with intrusive thoughts.
Thought-Action Fusion (TAF) is the tendency for individuals to assume that certain thoughts either increase the likelihood of catastrophic events (likelihood-TAF) or imply the immorality of their character (morality-TAF).[1] [2]
In more technical terms, TAF is a polyseme defining false beliefs or self-confusing mind wandering about a biased and painful association/fusion between subjects' spontaneous thoughts and imaginary latent egodystonic desires or magical-thinking capabilities.[3] [4] These imaginary latent egodystonic desires or magical-thinking capabilities generally express harmful actions/behaviours (e.g., compulsions) that subjects appraise as highly possible, even though they have never existed so far.[5]
Causes
The main causes of TAF are (one or several) hold false beliefs that mind-wandering episodes involving cognitive/interpretation biases have generated, from specific patterns of intrusive thoughts. Besides, a high level of negative affectivity is a mediator in the statistical relations between TAF and the existence of psychological pains (e.g. anxiety, depression and shame), or some mental disorders.
Examples
An ADAA webinar highlighted several examples of TAF,[6] such as:
| Intrusive thoughts | Cognitive biases | False beliefs |
|---|
| Driving is exciting, but anyone can run down pedestrians. | This terrible thought is definitively a sign. | I am losing control; I am going to run over a pedestrian anytime... |
| My sharp knife could kill a baby. | This horrific thought is almost surely revealing. | I am probably going to kill my child in the near future... | |
Categories
The two main categories of TAF are the:
- Likelihood TAF, i.e. anxious and false beliefs (e.g. magical thinking) assuming that specific intrusive thoughts would trigger the (thought) harmful events in the future;
- Moral TAF, i.e. uncertainty-evoking and false beliefs that specific intrusive thoughts about religiously or ethically/morally inappropriate behaviours, are as reprehensible or shameful as actually performing the intrusive thoughts' content.
Diagnosis
Simple interviews with specific health professionals (e.g. psychologists, psychiatrists) allow diagnosing TAF; there also exists a reliable psychometrics/estimator which is the: thought-action fusion questionnaire/scale.[7] [8]
Disorders
TAF happens in the anxiety disorders (e.g. GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorders (e.g. pure O) and eating disorders (e.g. anorexia); it generally worsens the mental disorders' severities or outcomes, irrespective of the treatments.[9]
Treatments
The main medial treatments for TAF are the cognitive-behavioral therapies, but mindfulness therapies like the acceptance and commitment therapy may also help.[10] [11] Moreover medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may increase the psychotherapy efficiency,[12] by alleviating the psychological pains the TAF induces - see section on Causes.
See also
Notes and References
- Thompson-Hollands . Johanna, Todd J. Farchione, and David H. Barlow . May 2013 . Thought-action fusion across anxiety disorder diagnoses: Specificity and treatment effects . The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease . 201 . 5 . 407–413 . 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31828e102c . 23595095 . 3645350 .
- Berle . David, and Vladan Starcevic . May 2005 . Thought-action fusion: review of the literature and future directions . 2024-04-13 . Clinical Psychology Review. 25 . 3 . 263–284 . 10.1016/j.cpr.2004.12.001 . 15792850 . 1959.4/unsworks_42622 . free .
- Thompson-Hollands J, Todd F, Barlow D . 2013 . Thought-action fusion across anxiety disorder diagnoses: specificity and treatment effects . The Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases . 201 . 5 . 407 - 413 . 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31828e102c. 23595095 . 3645350 .
- Siev J, Berman N, Zhou R, Himelein-Wachowiak K . 2022 . Predicting negative emotions in response to in vivo triggers of thought-action fusion . Journal Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders . 33 . 100723 . 10.1016/j.jocrd.2022.100723. 247076174 .
- Fite R, Magee J . 2022 . The role of magical thinking, sensitivity, and thought content in thought-action fusion . Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology . 41 . 2 . 128–154 . 10.1521/jscp.2022.41.2.128. 247988317 .
- Kissen D, Greene P . 2020 . What are intrusive thoughts and how can you deal with them . YouTube . ADAA . 26 March 2023.
- Shafran R, Thordarson D, Rachman S . 1996 . Thought-action fusion in obsessive compulsive disorder . Journal of Anxiety Disorders . 10 . 5 . 379–391 . 10.1016/0887-6185(96)00018-7.
- Meyer J, Brown T . 2012 . Psychometric evaluation of the thought–action fusion scale in a large clinical sample . Assessment . 20 . 6 . 764–775 . 10.1177/1073191112436670 . 22315482 . 4418236 .
- Lee E, Barney J, Twohig M, Lensegrav-Benson T, Quakenbush B . 2020 . Obsessive compulsive disorder and thought action fusion: Relationships with eating disorder outcomes . Eating Behaviurs . 37 . 101386 . 10.1177/1073191112436670. 32388080 . 4418236 .
- Azad M, Manshaei G, Ghamarani A . 2019 . The effect of mindfulness therapy on tolerance of uncertainty and thought-action fusion in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder . Quarterly Journal of Child Mental Health. 6 . 1.
- Azad M, Manshaei G, Ghamarani A . 2019 . Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on the signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder and thought-action fusion in the students with obsessive-compulsive disorder . Journal of Psychological Science . 18 . 73.
- Besiroglu L, Çetinkaya N, Selvi Y, Atli A . 2011 . Effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors on thought-action fusion, metacognitions, and thought suppression in obsessive-compulsive disorder . Comprehensive Psychiatry . 52 . 5 . 556–561 . 10.1016/j.comppsych.2010.10.003. 21109243 .
