noid ideas or an internalized critical voice, may be stable but not very flexible prediction models," says Stänicke. "For example, there may be people who automatically expect criticism, rejection or hostility from others, and therefore interpret situations through this filter despite the fact that reality does not warrant it." According to the researchers, these deeply rooted mental models can persist because they reduce uncertainty, even if they also distort how reality is perceived. From this perspective, both psychoanalysis and predictive neuroscience help explain why lasting psychological change can take considerable time. "In addition, both models give us insight into how parts of our expectations of the outside world are not only anchored cognitively, but in procedural memory that is expressed in relational ways of being," he says. Stänicke explains that expectations are stored not only as conscious beliefs, but also as deeply ingrained patterns that shape how people respond to and interact with others. "Therefore, psychotherapy sometimes has to work relationally. For example, new experiences in the relationship between therapist and patient can gradually help to change entrenched relational patterns."