positive symptoms of schizophrenia

presence of symptoms that should not be present

Include: hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, disorganized/ bizarre thoughts, behavior or speech

negative symptoms of schizophrenia
the absence of qualities that should be present 

Include: anhedonia, social discomfort, and lack of goal directed behavior

cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia
subtle or obvious impairment in memory, attention, thinking (disorganized or irrational
thoughts), and/or executive functioning (judgement, impulse control, prioritization, problem
solving)
affective symptoms of schizophrenia
symptoms involving emotions and their expression
reality testing
the automatic and unconscious process by which we determine what is and is not real
delusions
false beliefs that are held despite a lack of evidence to support them
associative looseness
haphazard and illogical thinking where concentration is poor and thoughts are only loosely
connected; most extreme form is word salad
word salad
the most extreme form of associative looseness, a jumble of words that is meaningless to the
listener
clang association
choosing words based on their sound rather than their meaning, often rhyming or having a
similar beginning sound
neologisms
words that have meaning for the patient but a different or nonexistent meaning to others
types of delusions
persecutory, referential, grandiose, erotomanic, nihilistic, somatic, and control.
persecutory delusions
believing that one is being singled out for harm or prevented from making progress by others
referential delusions
a belief that events or circumstances that have no connection to you are somehow related to you
grandiose delusions
believing that one is a very powerful or important person
erotomanic delusions
Believing that another person desires you romantically
nihilistic delusions
the conviction that a major catastrophe will occur
somatic delusions
believing that the body is changing in unusual ways
control delusions
Believing that another person, group of people, or external force controls thoughts, feelings,
impulses, or behavior
echolalia
pathological repetition of another's words
circumstantiality
including unnecessary and often tedious details in conversation but eventually reaching the point
tangentiality
wandering off topic or going off on tangents and never reaching the point
cognitive retardation
Generalized slowing of thinking, which is represented by delays in responding to questions or
difficulty finishing thoughts.
pressured speech
urgent or intense speech; reluctance to allow comments from others
flight of ideas
Moving rapidly from one thought to the next, often making it difficult for others to follow the
conversation.
symbolic speech
using words based on what they symbolize, not what they mean
thought blocking
A reduction or stoppage of thought. Interruption of thought by hallucinations can cause this.
thought insertion
the often uncomfortable belief that someone has inserted thoughts into the patient's brain
thought deletion
a belief that thoughts have been taken or are missing
magical thinking
believing that reality can be changed simply by thoughts or unrelated actions
paranoia
An irrational fear, ranging from mild (wary, guarded) to profound (believing irrationally that
another person intends to kill you); may result in defensive actions
hallucinations
the most common perceptual errors; sensory experience for which no external source exists
types of hallucinations
auditory, visual, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile
auditory hallucinations
hearing voices, noises, music, or sounds that are not actually real
visual hallucinations
Seeing objects, people, or things that do not actually exist
olfactory hallucinations
smelling odors that are not really present
gustatory hallucinations
tasting things that are not present
tactile hallucinations
feeling body sensations that are not really present
command hallucination
concerning symptom of schizophrenia; the person is directed to take an action which may or may
not be dangerous
illusion
misinterpretation of a real experience
depersonalization
a feeling of being unreal or having lost an element of one's identity
derealization
a feeling that the environment has changed
catatonia
A pronounced increase or decrease in the rate and amount of movement; the most common form
is stuporous behavior in which the person moves little or not at all.
catalepsy
muscle rigidity, may be so severe the limbs do not move at all
motor retardation
pronounced slowing of movement
motor agitation
excited behavior such as running or pacing rapidly, often in response to internal or external
stimuli; can put the patient at risk
stereotyped behaviors
repetitive behaviors that do not serve a logical purpose
echopraxia
the mimicking of movements of another
negativism
a tendency to resist or oppose the requests or wishes of others
impaired impulse control
reduced ability to resist one's impulses; increases risk of assault
gesturing or posturing
assuming unusual and illogical expressions (often grimaces, posture, or positions
boundary impairment
an impaired ability to sense where one's body or influence ends and another's begins
anhedonia
a reduced ability or inability to experience pleasure in everyday life
avolition
reduced motivation or goal-directed behavior; difficulty beginning and sustaining goal-directed
activities
asociality
decreased desire for social interaction or discomfort during it; social withdrawal
affective blunting
reduced or constricted affect
apathy
decreased interest in activities or beliefs that would otherwise be interesting or important or little
attention to them
alogia
reduction in speech, sometimes called poverty of speech
affect
external expression of someone's emotional state
common descriptors for affect
flat, blunted, constricted, inappropriate, and bizarre
flat affect
immobile or blank facial expression
blunted affect
reduced or minimal emotional response
constricted affect
emotion reduced in range or intensity; patient may only be able to feel one or two emotions
inappropriate affect
incongruent with the actual emotional state or situation
bizarre affect
odd, illogical, inappropriate, or unfounded affect; includes grimacing
concrete thinking
impaired ability to think abstractly, resulting in interpreting or perceiving things in a literal
manner
anosognosia
inability to realize that one is ill; often caused by the condition itself