ASWB Bachelor Practice Exam 2025 - Free ASWB Practice Questions and Study Guide

The situation described involves the 15-year-old high school student who believes he is a policeman, which is a clear example of a delusion. A delusion is defined as a firmly held false belief that is inconsistent with reality, which the individual holds onto even in the face of contradictory evidence. In this case, the boy's belief in being a policeman, despite the realities of his situation as a high school student, represents a significant disconnect from reality typical of delusional thinking.

On the other hand, hallucinations would involve perceiving something that is not present in the environment, such as hearing voices or seeing things that do not exist, which is not the case here. Grandiosity typically refers to an inflated sense of self-importance or abilities, which may be related but does not capture the essence of falsely believing oneself to be a specific authority figure, like a policeman. Metacognition involves thinking about one's own thinking processes; it's unrelated in this context, as it doesn’t pertain to beliefs about identity or reality. Thus, the description best fits the definition of a delusion.