Dr Anton Martinez: The Role of Mistrust in Paranoid Beliefs: Evidence from Clinical and Non-Clinical Samples
Friday, 07 August 2026 at 12:30
Our guest speaker is Dr Anton Martinez from Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London
Event details
Abstract
Paranoia entails the unfounded belief that other people are intentionally trying to cause harm. This belief system is best conceptualised as a continuum, with ordinary social-evaluative concerns at one end of the spectrum and experiences of severe threat at the other. Over recent decades, several psychological models have been developed to explore the mechanisms underlying paranoia, with insecure attachment styles and negative self-esteem identified as potential contributors to paranoid interpretations. However, the role of key interpersonal processes, such as mistrust, has received comparatively less attention. Given the social nature of paranoid beliefs, this seminar will explore different features of mistrust and their relationship with paranoia in non-clinical and clinical samples, drawing on studies using epidemiological, experimental, psychophysiological, and longitudinal designs.
Bio
Dr Anton P. Martinez is currently a trainee clinical psychologist at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London. His research focuses on the psychological mechanisms underlying severe mental health conditions, including psychosis and dissociative disorders, alongside work in psychiatric epidemiology and autism.
We ask everyone attending not to make any recordings or stills (photographs) of any part of the seminar and protect one another’s privacy.
Participation in the online seminar will be taken to indicate acceptance of these terms.
Zoom Meeting ID & Password
Meeting ID: 984 5856 0188
Password: 661284
Organiser
Mood Disorders Centre
Location
Sir Henry Wellcome Building for Mood Disorders Research, Streatham Campus (Hybrid)