Which trio are three common positive symptoms of an acutely psychotic patient?

• A. Diminished emotional expression, avolition, alogia.
• B. Social withdrawal, anhedonia, apathy.
• C. Disorganized or catatonic behavior only.
• D. Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech.

Answer: (D)

Positive symptoms are additions to normal experience that occur during an acute psychotic episode. Delusions are firmly held, false beliefs despite contrary evidence. Hallucinations are sensory experiences—such as hearing voices—that occur without an external stimulus. Disorganized speech reflects disruption in thought processes, often showing derailment, tangentiality, or incoherence. When these three appear together—delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech—they form the classic cluster of positive symptoms typical of acute psychosis.

In contrast, the other options describe negative symptoms, which are reductions or losses of normal functions, such as diminished emotional expression, avolition, alogia, social withdrawal, anhedonia, and apathy. While disorganized or catatonic behavior can occur in psychosis, it does not represent the same trio of positive symptoms, so the combination of delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech best reflects the acute positive symptom presentation.