Schizophrenia Symptoms

Question 1

What is schizophrenia?

Answer 1

A psychotic disorder that is typified by a lack of contact with reality

Question 2

What is meant by positive symptoms?

Answer 2

Behaviours that a person is exhibiting in addition to normal behaviour

Question 3

What are hallucinations?

Answer 3

A positive symptom
Perceptions that are unreal such as auditory hallucinations when hearing sounds or voices

Question 4

What are delusions?

Answer 4

Positive symptom
Beliefs that are unreal that are experienced with no evidence
Delusions of persecution, grandiosity (belief that an individual is special), paranoia, guilt

Question 5

What is disordered thinking?

Answer 5

Range of disordered behaviours eg. energetically pace, repetitive and useless movements, unexpected gestures and loud utterances

Question 6

What is meant by negative symptoms?

Answer 6

Behaviours that inhibit people from demonstrating normal behaviour

Question 7

What is alogia?

Answer 7

Poverty of speech
Negative symptom
Reduction in total amount of speech, speech that lacks meaning

Question 8

What is avolition?

Answer 8

Negative symptom
Lack of goal directed behaviour

Question 9

What is anhedonia?

Answer 9

Negative symptom
Where an individual does not react appropriately to pleasurable experiences

Question 10

What is flatness of affect?

Answer 10

Negative symptom
May converse without usual emotion showing little or no facial expressions such as smiling or grimacing
Speech patterns are monotonous and does not rise or fall like normal speech patterns

Question 11

What is catatonic behaviour?

Answer 11

Individual may remain immobile and demonstrate waxy flexibility