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