Delusion in Psychology

 In psychology, a delusion is a strongly held idiosyncratic belief system or idea, which is not supported by evidence or reason. A delusional idea or belief system is personal and not shared by a person's society or culture.

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A definition by Kiran and Chaudhury (2009)

A delusion is a belief that is clearly false and that indicates an abnormality in the affected person’s content of thought. The false belief is not accounted for by the person’s cultural or religious background or his or her level of intelligence. The key feature of a delusion is the degree to which the person is convinced that the belief is true. A person with a delusion will hold firmly to the belief regardless of evidence to the contrary. Delusions can be difficult to distinguish from overvalued ideas, which are unreasonable ideas that a person holds, but the affected person has at least some level of doubt as to its truthfulness.

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Delusions are common in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.

In delirium, delusions do not last long and are usually not elaborate.

In a delusional disorder, delusions may be complex.

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Common types of delusions include:

  Delusional jealousy (false beliefs of a partner's unfaithfulness) is also known as pathological jealousy, morbid jealousy, Othello delusion/ syndrome.

  Delusions of grandeur (Unsupported beliefs that an individual is more powerful, wealthy, intelligence, athletic, or otherwise grander than others.)

  Delusions of persecution

  Delusions of reference (Delusional beliefs that events have special personal significance. For example, a breaking general news story is about them.)

  Delusions of being controlled

  Somatic delusions (false beliefs about disease or the functions of bodily organs)

  Nihilistic delusions (beliefs that one's mind, body, or the world does not exist; delusion of negation)

  Bizarre delusion (strongly held ideas or belief systems that are obviously false)

  Fragmentary delusion (one or more undeveloped false beliefs that are disorganized and inconsistent)

  Systematized delusion (a false belief or belief system that is complex, organized, and internally consistent)

  Religious delusion (false beliefs involving religious beliefs). For example, in Western cultures, some present themselves as Jesus Christ. Religious delusions are common and often linked to delusions of grandeur (Iyassu et al., 2014). The grandeur type may present as God's special calling because the person is exceptional or they are a saint. Paranoid religious delusions may refer to being watched or pursued by demons or God. Koenig (2007) reported that more than a quarter of patients with schizophrenia present with religious delusions

References

Ashinoff, B. K., Singletary, N. M., Baker, S. C., & Horga, G. (2022). Rethinking delusions: A selective review of delusion research through a computational lens. Schizophrenia research, 245, 23–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2021.01.023

Iyassu, R., Jolley, S., Bebbington, P., Dunn, G., Emsley, R., Freeman, D., Fowler, D., Hardy, A., Waller, H., Kuipers, E., & Garety, P. (2014). Psychological characteristics of religious delusions. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 49(7), 1051–1061. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-013-0811-y

Kiran, C., & Chaudhury, S. (2009). Understanding delusions. Industrial psychiatry journal, 18(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-6748.57851

Koenig HG. Religion, Spirituality, and Psychotic Disorders. Revista de Psiquiatria Clínica. 2007;34(1):40-48. doi:10.1590/S0101-60832007000700013

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

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