Simran is suffering with schizophrenia. Recently, she has started remaining motionless and silent for a long duration of time. These symptoms are known as:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Catatonic stupor
Option (1) Catatonic stupor — Correct. It is a psychomotor symptom of schizophrenia in its extreme form, catatonia. People in a catatonic stupor remain motionless and silent for long stretches of time, which is what Simran shows.
Option (2) Blunted affect — Incorrect. It is a negative symptom: the person shows less anger, sadness, joy and other feelings than most people. It is about weak emotions, not about lying still and silent.
Option (3) Avolition — Incorrect. Avolition is apathy and an inability to start or complete a course of action. The person lacks the will to act, but is not frozen motionless.
Option (4) Flat affect — Incorrect. In flat affect the person shows no emotions at all. It concerns the expression of feelings, not movement or speech.
NCERT (2025-26): “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. Also patients with schizophrenia experience avolition, or apathy and an inability to start or complete a course of action.…” “…People with schizophrenia also show psychomotor symptoms. They move less spontaneously or make odd grimaces and gestures. These symptoms may take extreme forms known as catatonia. People in a catatonic stupor remain motionless and silent for long stretches of time.…” |