Overly deep hierarchical mentalizing produces paranoia: a new formal theory

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# Overly deep hierarchical mentalizing produces paranoia: a new formal theory - a preprint uplodaded in February 2024

Authors: Nitay Alon, Lion Schulz, Vaughan Bell, Michael Moutoussis, Peter Dayan, and Joseph M Barnby

Humans need to be on their toes when interacting with competitive others to avoid being duped. Too much caution out of context can, however, be detrimental and produce false beliefs of intended harm. Here, we offer a formal account of this phenomenon through the lens of Theory of Mind. We simulate agents of different depths of mentalization within a simple game theoretic paradigm and show how, if aligned well, deep recursive mentalization gives rise to both successful deception as well as reasonable skepticism. However, we also show that if a self is mentalising too deeply -hyper-mentalising - false beliefs arise that a partner is trying to trick them maliciously, resulting in a material loss to the self. This theory offers a potential cognitive mechanism for suspiciousness, paranoia, and conspiratorial ideation. Rather than a deficit in Theory of Mind, paranoia may arise from the application of overly strategic thinking to ingenuous behaviour.

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This is definitely reflective of my experiences, at the onset of psychosis.

But I would still think (was it Freud) got it right when stating that parents are the cause of the worst harms to the child’s mind.

Imagine trying to understand and mentalize the inner intentions of teens/young adults, that do not know their own reasons/intentions themselves, but are simply copying the traits from their own sociopathic parents, who are lying to them almost 24/7 back at home.

You can only be ‘gaslit’ for so long, and from so many angles, that your house eventually blows up.

People are smart enough to sense the fire, but not fast enough to stop the flame.