Every-day coincidences and referential thinking: Differentiating normative experiences from symptoms in psychosis

Coincidence is defined as a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection (Oxford). While the experience of coincidence is common in the general population, abnormalities surrounding this phenomenon are also a hallmark feature of psychosis. When faced with a coincidence, patients with schizophrenia may exhibit difficulties with assigning significance or making a determination of causality and as a result, unrelated things may seem meaningfully connected (i.e., referential thinking).
Source: Schizophrenia Research - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Letter to the editor Source Type: research