Delusions
Title
Delusions
Author
Coltheart, Max
Research Area
Psychopathology
Topic
Mental Disorder Varieties
Abstract
A delusional belief is a belief adopted on the basis of insufficient evidence and held strongly in the face of much counterevidence. Some people with a delusional condition have a single delusional belief—this is monothematic delusion and much is now understood about what cause the various kinds of monothematic delusion. I describe six kinds of monothematic delusions. Other people with a delusional condition have many different delusional beliefs about a wide variety of topics—this is polythematic delusion, and what could be the causes of polythematic delusional conditions is still very poorly understood.