Schizophrenia and Delusions in Other Groups Here Here Here Here Schizophrenia and Delusions in Other Groups When a belief is held with assurance despite strong contradictory evidence, it can be referred to as a delusion. This definition immediately raises some serious concerns due to the widespread influence of concepts that are in direct opposition to observable, scientific "reality". Such beliefs include theistic religions, armchair psychology (based on pop culture rather than evidence), and superstitions.
One way to avoid this problem is the use of social norms to judge the delusionary quality of a conviction or belief system (although this strategy introduces a new problem in the identification of a standard norm to reference). Extremely abnormal (as determined by the four Ds of deviance, damage, dysfunction, and distress) delusions are often associated with schizophrenia. However, this condition includes many more symptoms in addition to irrational beliefs. One process for categorizing schizophrenia symptoms is by grouping them into "positive" and "negative" types.
Positive symptoms are present in schizophrenics but not normally so in the general population (delusions and hallucinations), while negative symptoms involve the lack of characteristics that are normally present without the ailment (blunted emotion, reduction in speech, etc.). Many groups other than those with psychoses are commonly associated with delusional beliefs. One example is the section of society that believes in aliens and/or UFOs. Labeling of this group in this manner is common, but not necessarily deserved.
Given the immensity of the universe, alien life is still a possibility. This is argued within science, but support for life on other planets is growing daily. Additionally, UFOs most certainly exist, as there are common records of airborne objects that are not identifiable. However, suggesting that aliens have visited Earth or that UFOs are alien crafts may be outside of reasonable support. Delusional thoughts of this type should not require treatment unless they violate the four Ds of abnormal behavior.
ReferenceCorner, R.J. (2011). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology (6th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.
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