The Generally Agreed Upon Definition of Hallucinations is That They are Actually Perceptions

Reading Passage Question

The generally agreed upon definition of hallucinations is that they are actually perceptions in the absence of an external stimulus of the relevant sensory organ. These perceptions are accompanied by a persuasive sense of their reality. Hallucinations are not to be confused with illusions, which are misinterpretations of actual external stimuli. In other words, in the case of a hallucination, for a person hallucinating a sound for instance, the sound actually exists, but in reality it exists nowhere but in the person’s mind; however, in the case of an illusion the stimulus that caused the illusion does exist in the real world. Although hallucinations are a key diagnostic feature of schizophrenia, a mental disorder that distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others, they can occur in individuals devoid of any physical or mental disorder.

In order to understand why people hallucinate, some researchers have been studying people suffering from what is called the phantom limb syndrome, a condition in which people who have undergone amputation feel as though the missing body part were still very much present and attached to the body; for instance, it is not uncommon for a person who has lost a leg to unknowingly try to stand and walk without any external support after their surgery. One of the two main hypotheses behind the phantom limb syndrome offers an explanation that is possibly applicable to why people hallucinate in certain circumstances. As per this theory, the brain is programmed for a body where every body part is intact and in the appropriate place. Accordingly, when some signals go missing, because of the missing body part, the brain compensates for the lack of sensory input by triggering spontaneous nerve cell activity. Although this theory has limited applicability for understanding why patients such as those of schizophrenia hallucinate in conditions not deemed out of the ordinary, it is a step forward in understanding why people experience visual or auditory hallucinations when they are placed in solitary confinements; after all the different areas of the brain that were used to receiving signals through the senses start to stimulate themselves in to action.

“The generally agreed upon definition of hallucinations is that they are actually perceptions”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. Each of the following can be inferred from the passage EXCEPT

1. Solitary confinement is a condition that it is not necessarily deemed out of the ordinary.
2. An illusion follows an actual stimulus whereas a hallucination does not.
3. On detecting that a patient is experiencing hallucinations, a psychiatrist is likely to check the patient for schizophrenia.
4. When a body part is amputated, the brain stops receiving some of the signals it usually does.
5. The applicability of phantom limb syndrome is limited to some instances of hallucinations.

2. The author is primarily concerned with

1. Differentiating hallucinations from other forms of disorders and discussing the relevance of a theory.
2. Discussing the relevance of a proposed hypothesis while defining hallucination and differentiating it from another phenomenon.
3. Explaining why a theory does not provide full insight into the circumstances leading up to hallucinations.
4. Defining hallucination by citing a unanimously agreed upon definition and providing insight into why hallucinations take place in circumstances not regarded out of the ordinary.
5. Elaborating on a theory that deals with a phenomenon that is triggered by circumstances not dissimilar to hallucinations in certain conditions.

3. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?

1. Hallucinations are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, imbalances typical of people with mental disorders.
2. Hallucinations cannot be experienced at the same time as illusions.
3. A person suffering from the phantom limb syndrome is likely to suffer from hallucination at some point during the condition.
4. Auditory and visual hallucinations are the two most common types of hallucinations experienced by people in solitary confinement.
5. An illusion happens after there has been a real external trigger for the same.

4. Which of the following most aptly describes the function of the first paragraph?

1. To elaborate a concept while differentiating it from other related concepts.
2. To define a phenomenon while discarding a common misunderstanding about its central feature.
3. To explain a key difference between two concepts.
4. To introduce a phenomenon while differentiating it from another.
5. To initiate a discussion about a concept that is normally mistaken for another phenomenon.

Suggested GMAT Reading Comprehension Questions

• A One-Child Policy was Implemented in China in 1979
• Seeking a Competitive Advantage, Some Professional Service Firms
• On the surface, the Conquest of the Aztec Empire by Herman Cortes
• But Man is Not Destined to Vanish. He can be Killed, but he cannot be Destroyed, Because his Soul is Deathless and his Spirit is Irrepressible.
• When Literary Periods are Defined on the Basis of Men’s Writing, Women’s Writing Must be Forcibly Assimilated
• Behind Every Book Review There are Two Key Figures: A Book Review Editor and A Reviewer.
• Barbara Strozzi was a Singer and Composer of Madrigals, Aria
• During the Victorian Period, Women Writers were Measured Against A Social
• It Is Perhaps Not Surprising that Debate has Arisen Over Bioluminescence-Based Biotechnologies
• The Fact that Superior Service can Generate a Competitive Advantage
• The Origin of the Attempt to Distinguish Early from Modern Music
• The Phenomenon of College Basketball's Surging Popularity Remains a Challenge to Classify
• The United States Government has a Long-Standing Policy of Using Federal Funds to Keep Small Business Viable.
• A Recent Study has Provided Clues to Predator-Prey Dynamics in the Late Pleistocene Era.
• Even More Than Mountainside Slides of Mud or Snow, Naturally Occurring Forest Fires Promote the Survival of Aspen Trees.
• The Black Death, a Severe Epidemic that Ravaged Fourteenth Century Europe
• The System of Patent-Granting, Which Confers Temporary Monopolies for the Exploitation of New Technologies
• Ethnohistoric Documents from Sixteenth-Century Mexico Suggesting that Weaving and Cooking were the Most Common Productive Activities for Aztec Women
• Solar Ponds are Bodies of Water in Which Circulation is Incomplete and There is a Very High Salt Concentration that Increases with Depth
• Traditional Social Science Models of Class Groups in the United States are Based on Economic Status