A false belief unexplained by reality, shared by several people is:

Appeared in: HP CHO -9 October 2022

Explanation

A superstition is a false belief that is not based on reason or knowledge but is shared among a group of people or a culture.
The defining characteristic in the question is "shared by several people," which directly points to the social and cultural nature of superstition.
Examples include believing that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck or that the number 13 is unlucky.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option B: An illusion is a misinterpretation of a real sensory stimulus. It is a disturbance of perception, not a false belief.
Option C: A delusion is a fixed, false belief that is notably not shared by others in the person's culture or subculture. The individual nature of the belief is a key diagnostic criterion.
Option D: An obsession is a persistent, intrusive, and unwanted thought, image, or urge that causes distress. It is a type of thought, not a belief system shared with others.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Differentiating between types of false beliefs and thought disturbances in psychiatry as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Accurately identifying a patient's thought content is a fundamental part of the Mental Status Examination (MSE) for nurses. It helps in diagnosing psychiatric conditions.
The nursing approach varies significantly: you might gently reorient a patient experiencing an illusion, but directly challenging a delusion is often ineffective and can damage the therapeutic relationship.
Understanding the difference is vital for patient safety. A patient with persecutory delusions may pose a risk to themselves or others, requiring specific safety precautions.

How to Approach the Question

First, dissect the definition provided in the question stem into key components: 1) It's a belief. 2) It's false/unexplained by reality. 3) It is shared by several people.
Next, evaluate each option against these components.
Eliminate 'Illusion' because it's a misperception of a real stimulus, not a belief.
Eliminate 'Obsession' because it's an intrusive thought, not a belief system.
Now, differentiate between 'Superstition' and 'Delusion'. The critical clue is "shared by several people."
Recall that delusions are defined as being inconsistent with one's cultural background and are typically held individually. Superstitions, by contrast, are inherently shared within a culture or group. This makes 'Superstition' the correct fit.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Differentiating between types of false beliefs and thought disturbances in psychiatry.
Stem keywords: false belief, unexplained by reality, shared by several people
Lead-in keywords: is
Negative lead-in flag: false

Question ID

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Reference Book

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) pp. 3249-3251, 3802-3804

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