Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow:
Ravi was a sales assistant in an electronics shop who got a commission for every sale over and above his monthly salary. For the past few months, he had been behaving differently, and his performance was declining. When his boss checked with him, Ravi reported that he heard voices in his head telling him that the customers were spying on him. In fact, he was confident that someone had embedded a chip in his brain. Therefore, he was feeling threatened and deliberately victimized. Ravi's colleagues complained that he often used new and strange words and reacted inappropriately in any situation. One of Ravi's neighbours also shared that Ravi loved kicking and hurting street dogs and would laugh loudly when they were wounded and bled. It seemed that Ravi needed to visit a mental health professional to seek help.
Identify the formal thought disorder which is evident in Ravi?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Neologism
Formal thought disorders are the ways in which people with schizophrenia cannot think logically and speak in peculiar ways, which makes communication very difficult. The passage says that Ravi ‘often used new and strange words’.
Option (1) Derailment — Incorrect. In derailment the person rapidly shifts from one topic to another, so the normal structure of thinking becomes muddled and illogical. Nothing in the passage shows Ravi jumping between topics.
Option (2) Perseveration — Incorrect. Perseveration is the persistent and inappropriate repetition of the same thoughts. Ravi uses new words; he does not keep repeating the same idea.
Option (3) Loosening of associations — Incorrect. Like derailment, loosening of associations means thoughts slip from one topic to another without a logical link. It concerns how ideas are connected, not the invention of words.
Option (4) Neologism — Correct. Neologism means inventing new words or phrases. Ravi’s colleagues complain of this very thing: his new and strange words.
NCERT (2025-26): “Symptoms of Schizophrenia … People with schizophrenia may not be able to think logically and may speak in peculiar ways. These formal thought disorders can make communication extremely difficult. These include rapidly shifting from one topic to another so that the normal structure of thinking is muddled and becomes illogical (loosening of associations, derailment), inventing new words or phrases (neologisms), and persistent and inappropriate repetition of the same thoughts (perseveration).…” |