shared delusion
Mass false belief
A shared delusion is a false belief held by two or more people, often reinforced by their mutual conviction.
In psychiatry, the term describes a condition where a delusion spreads from one person to another in close contact.
More loosely, it describes any collectively maintained fiction: Their marriage was a shared delusion that everything was fine.
The phrase often implies that group agreement doesn't make something true.
- mass hysteriaShared irrational public fear
- cultFervent fringe group
- cult mentalityDevotion overriding independent thought
- groupthinkConformity-driven poor decisions
- false consensusBelieving others share your views
contagion · social contagion · brainwashing · echo chamber · conspiracy · paranoia · believers · followers · fever · mania · psychosis · propaganda · true believers · infectious · zealots · mob · fanaticism · bubble
shared delusionobjective truth
Reality independent of perception
collective wisdom · common knowledge · scientific consensus · hard evidence · ground truth
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