Psychology Test 1 Terms: Mental Status Examination

Study Notes

Looseness of Associations: Disconnected thoughts, jumping from unrelated ideas (e.g., "bussing is kissing").
Flight of Ideas: Rapid speech with continuous shifts in topic (e.g., references to home and escape).
Tangential: Diversion from the main topic without returning (e.g., lengthy frustration about waiting in grocery lines).
Circumstantial: Initially diverging from the main idea but eventually returning to it (e.g., discussing accidents before mentioning mother's age).
Thought Blocking: Abrupt speech interruptions marked by silence.
Incoherent Speech: Lacks logical sense or connection.
Word Salad: Disorganized and random word sequence, lacking meaning (e.g., nonsensical phrases).
Clanging: Word associations based on sound rather than meaning; rhyming without logical ties.
Neologisms: Creation of new, nonsensical words.
Echolalia: Repetition of another's words without context, similar to mimicking a TV show.

Hallucinations: False sensory perceptions without external stimuli, categorized as:
- Auditory
- Visual
- Olfactory
- Tactile
- Gustatory
Illusions: Misinterpretations of actual stimuli (e.g., mistaking a shadow for a tiger).

Thought Process: Can be coherent (linear) or disorganized (e.g., looseness of associations).
Thought Content:
- Delusions: Firmly held false beliefs inconsistent with reality:
  - Paranoid/Persecutory: Believing one is being harmed or followed.
  - Referential: Believing external references are directed personally (e.g., TV or book messages).
  - Bizarre: Outlandish beliefs (e.g., claiming organs have been replaced).
  - Grandiose: Inflated self-importance or superiority.
  - Somatic: Conversion of psychological issues into physical symptoms (e.g., believing in parasites).
  - Ideas of Reference: Misinterpreting external events as personally significant (e.g., thinking laughter is aimed at oneself).
  - Thought Withdrawal: Belief that thoughts have been stolen by an outside force.
  - Thought Insertion: Belief that external forces are implanting thoughts.
  - Thought Broadcasting: Conviction that one's thoughts are audible to others.

Evaluation includes assessing cognitive abilities like highest grade completed and knowledge-based questions (e.g., capital of France, recent presidents).
Proverb interpretation indicates ability to think abstractly versus literally.