Abstract
Background: Type D personality, which has been related to cognitive factors, makes a person susceptible to psychological and physical disorders. However, cognitive biases specific to this type have not been identified till now, and if identified, it can help to modify cognitive biases of a wide range of problems. Aims: Considering the need to fill the existing gap, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the type D personality’s cognitive biases. Methods: The current research was conducted based on a qualitative approach using a constructive phenomenological method. The target population was the Persian Gulf University’s students of Bushehr in 2022, among them 21 people with type D personality were selected by purposive sampling, and a semi-structured interview, designed by the researchers, was conducted with them. Manifest content analysis and latent content analysis, based on open and axial coding, were also performed in MAXQDA-2020 software. Results: 56 initial codes were found in two themes of “personal bias” and “environmental bias”. Environmental bias included “view about the world” (with sub-themes of “view about the future” and “view about the present situation”) and “view about the others” whereas personal bias included “personal characteristics” (consists of “emotional”, “social”, and “cognitive” characteristics) and “personal life” (consists of “attitude about the present life” and “attitude about the past life”). Finally the initial codes, all themes and sub-themes were attributed to “interpretative bias” as axial coding. Conclusion: The identified interpretation biases can be considered as items of interpretation bias modification scenarios and can be used to modify the mentioned biases in people with type D personality.