An Experimental Examination of the Aberrant Salience Hypothesis Using a Salience Manipulation and a Behavioral Magical Thinking Task

A prominent hypothesis of delusions is that they reflect aberrant salience caused by increased striatal dopamine. For the first time, we conducted an experimental test of the aberrant salience hypothesis (n = 235 college students) as we manipulated salience and examined its effect on magical thinking (using a behavioral task). We also included a putative dopamine manipulation (performing a high reward or low reward task). Both the salience and the putative dopamine manipulations caused changes in magical thinking. Evidence supporting the validity of the magical thinking behavioral task included that it was associated with self-reported magical thinking and with another behavioral task (reversal learning) previously associated with striatal dopamine. In a manipulation check, the putative dopamine manipulation also caused altered performance on the reversal learning task. Overall, these results seem to be consistent with the predictions of the aberrant salience hypothesis and are potentially consistent with a role for salience and dopamine in magical thinking.