vertible and obvious proof or evidence to th e contrary. The belief is not ordinarily ac-
cepted by other members of the person’s culture or subculture (i.e., it is not an article of
religious faith). When a false belief involves a value judgment, it is regarded as a delusion
only when the judgment is so extreme as to defy credibility. Delusional conviction can
sometimes be inferred from an overvalued idea (in which case the individual has an un-
reasonable belief or idea but does not hold it as firmly as is the case with a delusion). De-
lusions are subdivided according to thei r content. Common types are listed below:
bizarre A delusion that involves a phenomenon that the person’s culture would re-
gard as physically impossible.
delusional jealousy A delusion that one’s sexual partner is unfaithful.
erotomanic A delusion that another person, usually of higher status, is in love with
the individual.
grandiose A delusion of inflated worth, power, knowledge, identity, or special re-
lationship to a deity or famous person.
mixed type Delusions of more than one type (e.g., EROTOMANIC , GRANDIOSE , PERSE -
CUTORY , SOMATIC ) in which no one theme predominates.
mood-congruent See MOOD -CONGRUENT  PSYCHOTIC  FEATURES .
mood-incongruent See MOOD -INCONGRUENT  PSYCHOTIC  FEATURES .
of being controlled A delusion in which feelings, impulses, thoughts, or actions
are experienced as being under the control of some external force rather than be-
ing under one’s own control.
of reference A delusion in which events, objects, or other persons in one’s immedi-