Delusions are described as:

• A. Delusions are rumors that people believe.
• B. Delusions are a sensory experience.
• C. Delusions involve mood.
• D. Delusions are fixed false beliefs not shared by the person’s culture.

Answer: (D)

Delusions are fixed false beliefs that a person holds with strong conviction despite clear evidence to the contrary and despite cultural norms. A key feature is that the belief is not shared or accepted by others in the person’s culture, and it cannot be explained away by ordinary cultural or religious beliefs. Delusions are beliefs, not sensory experiences, so they differ from hallucinations (which involve seeing, hearing, or sensing things that aren’t there). They also aren’t simply mood or affect. Since the belief is both false and culturally incongruent, it best fits the description of fixed false beliefs not shared by the person’s culture.