A 19-year-old with psychosis uses made-up words and phrases. What type of verbal utterance is this?

A 19-year-old with psychosis uses made-up words and phrases. What type of verbal utterance is this?

• A. Echolalia
• B. Hallucination
• C. Neologism
• D. Catatonia

Answer: (C)

Neologism is the creation of a new word or phrase that has personal meaning to the patient but is not understandable to others. In psychosis, this shows a disorganized thought process and language, where speech includes invented terms that don’t fit established language. Echolalia would involve repeating words or phrases spoken by someone else, not generating new ones. A hallucination refers to perceiving something—often hearing voices—that isn’t real, not the production of novel words. Catatonia is a motor and behavior syndrome, such as stupor or rigidity, rather than a specific pattern of speech content.

Neologism is the creation of a new word or phrase that has personal meaning to the patient but is not understandable to others. In psychosis, this shows a disorganized thought process and language, where speech includes invented terms that don’t fit established language.

Echolalia would involve repeating words or phrases spoken by someone else, not generating new ones. A hallucination refers to perceiving something—often hearing voices—that isn’t real, not the production of novel words. Catatonia is a motor and behavior syndrome, such as stupor or rigidity, rather than a specific pattern of speech content.