Ramesh, aged 28, hears voices that no one else hears and firmly believes his neighbours are spying on him. Identify the category of schizophrenia symptoms he shows and how that category is described.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Positive symptoms - excesses of thought, emotion, and behaviour
Option (1) Positive symptoms - excesses of thought, emotion, and behaviour — Correct. Hearing voices is a hallucination, and the fixed belief of being spied on is a delusion of persecution. Both are positive symptoms, which are excesses of thought, emotion, and behaviour: something is added to normal experience.
Option (2) Negative symptoms - deficits of thought, emotion, and behaviour — Incorrect. Negative symptoms are deficits, where something normal is lost, such as speech or emotion. Ramesh shows added experiences.
Option (3) Positive symptoms - deficits of thought, emotion, and behaviour — Incorrect. The category is right but the description is reversed. Positive symptoms are excesses; deficits describe negative symptoms.
Option (4) Negative symptoms - excesses of thought, emotion, and behaviour — Incorrect. Both parts are wrong. Negative symptoms are deficits, and Ramesh's voices and beliefs are positive symptoms.
NCERT (2026-27): “Symptoms of Schizophrenia “Positive symptoms are ‘pathological excesses’ or ‘bizarre additions’ to a person’s behaviour. Delusions, disorganised thinking and speech, heightened perception and hallucinations, and inappropriate affect are the ones most often found in schizophrenia.” “Many people with schizophrenia develop delusions. A delusion is a false belief that is firmly held on inadequate grounds. It is not affected by rational argument, and has no basis in reality. Delusions of persecution are the most common in schizophrenia. People with this delusion believe that they are being plotted against, spied on, slandered, threatened, attacked or deliberately victimised. …” |