Restriction in the amount of speech; spontaneous speech and replies to questions range from brief and unelaborated to monosyllabic or no response at all. When the amount of speech is adequate, there may be a poverty of content if the answer is vague or if there is a substitution of stereotyped or obscure phrases for meaningful responses.
One of the negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia is the presence of curt and vacant responses to questions. It is important to distinguish this symptom from shyness or a genuine reluctance to engage in conversation.