Illusion versus hallucination: which statement is accurate?

• A. Illusion: misperception of real external stimuli; Hallucination: perception without external stimuli.
• B. Illusion: perception without external stimuli; Hallucination: misperception.
• C. Illusion: hearing voices; Hallucination: seeing a coat.
• D. Illusion and Hallucination are the same.

Answer: (A)

Illusions are misperceptions of real external stimuli, while hallucinations are perceptions that occur without any external stimulus. In practice, an illusion happens when something in the environment is real but is interpreted incorrectly—like mistaking a coat on a chair in dim light for a person approaching. A hallucination, on the other hand, is a vivid sensory experience—hearing voices, seeing things, or smelling scents—that has no external source at all and can feel very real to the person.

This distinction is why the statement describing illusions as misperception of real stimuli and hallucinations as perceptions without external stimuli is correct. The other statements mix up the definitions or mix up which experiences involve real stimuli versus none at all, or suggest they are the same.