What is a hallucination?

A hallucination is defined as a perception that occurs without an external stimulus, meaning that an individual may see, hear, feel, or smell something that is not actually present in their environment. This aligns with the concept of seeing something that isn’t really there, making it a perceptual experience that does not correspond to reality. Hallucinations can be the result of various factors, including mental health conditions, substance use, or neurological disorders.

Understanding hallucinations is important for recognizing how they differ from other psychological phenomena. For instance, the other options represent different psychological experiences: a persistent false belief corresponds to delusions, feelings of intense sadness refer to depressive symptoms, and sudden memory loss pertains to amnesia. These experiences do not involve sensory perceptions occurring in the absence of stimuli, highlighting the unique nature of hallucinations.