Identify the positive symptom of Schizophrenia from the following options:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Hallucinations
The symptoms of schizophrenia fall into three groups: positive symptoms (excesses of thought, emotion and behaviour), negative symptoms (deficits of thought, emotion and behaviour) and psychomotor symptoms.
Option (1) Hallucinations — Correct. Positive symptoms are ‘pathological excesses’ or ‘bizarre additions’ to a person’s behaviour; heightened perception and hallucinations are among them, along with delusions, disorganised thinking and speech, and inappropriate affect.
Option (2) Avolition — Incorrect. Avolition is apathy and an inability to start or complete a course of action, a negative symptom.
Option (3) Alogia — Incorrect. Alogia is poverty of speech, a reduction in speech and speech content, a negative symptom.
Option (4) Flat affect — Incorrect. Flat affect is showing no emotions at all, a negative symptom.
NCERT (2025-26): “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.…” “Symptoms of Schizophrenia … Negative symptoms are ‘pathological deficits’ and include poverty of speech, blunted and flat affect, loss of volition, and social withdrawal. People with schizophrenia show alogia or poverty of speech, i.e. a reduction in speech and speech content. Many people with schizophrenia show less anger, sadness, joy, and other feelings than most people do. Thus they have blunted affect. Some show no emotions at all, a condition known as flat affect.…” “Symptoms of Schizophrenia … Also patients with schizophrenia experience avolition, or apathy and an inability to start or complete a course of action.…” |