NURS 222 Mental Status Examination (MSE) Comprehensive Mastery
Quiz 2026 |WCU
1. When assessing a patient’s ‘affect’ during a Mental Status Examination, what
is the nurse primarily observing?
A. The objective, outward expression of the patient’s internal emotional state.
B. The patient’s internal emotional state as reported by the patient.
C. The logical flow of the patient’s thought processes.
D. The patient’s ability to perform complex cognitive tasks.
Answer: A
Rationale: Affect is the objective observation of the patient’s emotional expression,
whereas mood is the subjective emotional state reported by the patient.
2. A patient explains that they are late for the appointment because ‘the birds
were singing a code that directed me to the wrong bus stop.’ This is an example
of:
A. Ideas of reference
B. Thought broadcasting
C. Thought insertion
D. Delusions of grandeur
Answer: A
Rationale: Ideas of reference involve the false belief that irrelevant or innocuous events in
the world have direct personal significance or a hidden message for the individual.
,3. During the MSE, the nurse asks the patient to interpret the proverb ‘Don’t cry
over spilled milk.’ The patient responds, ‘It means if you drop your milk carton,
you shouldn’t cry because you can get another one.’ How should the nurse
document this?
A. Concrete thinking
B. Tangential thinking
C. Abstract thinking
D. Circumstantial thinking
Answer: A
Rationale: Concrete thinking is characterized by a literal interpretation of concepts and an
inability to generalize or understand metaphorical meanings.
4. Which finding regarding ‘thought process’ is characterized by the patient
providing excessive, unnecessary detail but eventually reaching the point of the
conversation?
A. Tangentiality
B. Flight of ideas
C. Word salad
D. Circumstantiality
Answer: D
Rationale: Circumstantiality involves a delay in reaching the point because of unnecessary
detail, but unlike tangentiality, the person eventually returns to the central point.
, 5. A patient with schizophrenia says, ‘I need to go to the store to buy some
flibber-gobs for my flan-plan.’ The word ‘flibber-gobs’ is an example of:
A. Echolalia
B. Clang association
C. Neologism
D. Perseveration
Answer: C
Rationale: Neologisms are newly coined or meaningless words that have symbolic
meaning only to the person using them.
6. A nurse observes a patient sitting in the same rigid position for several hours
and finds that the patient’s arm remains in the position the nurse moved it to.
This is documented as:
A. Akathisia
B. Waxy flexibility
C. Echopraxia
D. Dystonia
Answer: B
Rationale: Waxy flexibility is a condition in which a patient stays in any position they are
placed in, often associated with catatonic schizophrenia.
7. When the nurse asks a patient about their day, the patient responds, ‘Cold,
bold, told, sold, gold.’ This represents:
A. Neologisms
B. Word salad
C. Clang association
D. Loose association
Answer: C
Quiz 2026 |WCU
1. When assessing a patient’s ‘affect’ during a Mental Status Examination, what
is the nurse primarily observing?
A. The objective, outward expression of the patient’s internal emotional state.
B. The patient’s internal emotional state as reported by the patient.
C. The logical flow of the patient’s thought processes.
D. The patient’s ability to perform complex cognitive tasks.
Answer: A
Rationale: Affect is the objective observation of the patient’s emotional expression,
whereas mood is the subjective emotional state reported by the patient.
2. A patient explains that they are late for the appointment because ‘the birds
were singing a code that directed me to the wrong bus stop.’ This is an example
of:
A. Ideas of reference
B. Thought broadcasting
C. Thought insertion
D. Delusions of grandeur
Answer: A
Rationale: Ideas of reference involve the false belief that irrelevant or innocuous events in
the world have direct personal significance or a hidden message for the individual.
,3. During the MSE, the nurse asks the patient to interpret the proverb ‘Don’t cry
over spilled milk.’ The patient responds, ‘It means if you drop your milk carton,
you shouldn’t cry because you can get another one.’ How should the nurse
document this?
A. Concrete thinking
B. Tangential thinking
C. Abstract thinking
D. Circumstantial thinking
Answer: A
Rationale: Concrete thinking is characterized by a literal interpretation of concepts and an
inability to generalize or understand metaphorical meanings.
4. Which finding regarding ‘thought process’ is characterized by the patient
providing excessive, unnecessary detail but eventually reaching the point of the
conversation?
A. Tangentiality
B. Flight of ideas
C. Word salad
D. Circumstantiality
Answer: D
Rationale: Circumstantiality involves a delay in reaching the point because of unnecessary
detail, but unlike tangentiality, the person eventually returns to the central point.
, 5. A patient with schizophrenia says, ‘I need to go to the store to buy some
flibber-gobs for my flan-plan.’ The word ‘flibber-gobs’ is an example of:
A. Echolalia
B. Clang association
C. Neologism
D. Perseveration
Answer: C
Rationale: Neologisms are newly coined or meaningless words that have symbolic
meaning only to the person using them.
6. A nurse observes a patient sitting in the same rigid position for several hours
and finds that the patient’s arm remains in the position the nurse moved it to.
This is documented as:
A. Akathisia
B. Waxy flexibility
C. Echopraxia
D. Dystonia
Answer: B
Rationale: Waxy flexibility is a condition in which a patient stays in any position they are
placed in, often associated with catatonic schizophrenia.
7. When the nurse asks a patient about their day, the patient responds, ‘Cold,
bold, told, sold, gold.’ This represents:
A. Neologisms
B. Word salad
C. Clang association
D. Loose association
Answer: C
