How should you interpret Sam's belief that he is a famous movie star and a limousine will arrive to get him later today?

How should you interpret Sam's belief that he is a famous movie star and a limousine will arrive to get him later today?

• A. Psychotic thinking.
• B. Delusional thoughts.
• C. Flight of ideas.
• D. Confabulation.

Answer: (B)

Delusional thoughts are fixed, false beliefs that are not shared by others and remain intact despite clear evidence to the contrary. Sam’s conviction that he is a famous movie star and that a limousine will arrive for him later today fits this pattern: it’s a grandiose belief about his own status and an anticipated event that cannot be supported by reality, a hallmark of delusions seen in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. This differs from other terms: psychotic thinking is a broader label for experiences of psychosis but doesn’t specify the nature of the belief; flight of ideas involves rapid, loose associations and shifting topics, typical of mania; and confabulation is the fabrication of memories to fill gaps in recall, not a fixed false belief about one’s identity or future.

Delusional thoughts are fixed, false beliefs that are not shared by others and remain intact despite clear evidence to the contrary. Sam’s conviction that he is a famous movie star and that a limousine will arrive for him later today fits this pattern: it’s a grandiose belief about his own status and an anticipated event that cannot be supported by reality, a hallmark of delusions seen in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

This differs from other terms: psychotic thinking is a broader label for experiences of psychosis but doesn’t specify the nature of the belief; flight of ideas involves rapid, loose associations and shifting topics, typical of mania; and confabulation is the fabrication of memories to fill gaps in recall, not a fixed false belief about one’s identity or future.