What’s the difference between positive and negative symptoms?

    Written by:
    Louie Neri

    Fact-checked

    by:

    Morgan Pfiffner, Natalka Roshak
    Last Updated: May 16, 2025

    Positive symptoms in schizophrenia involve the presence of additional behaviors or emotions, such as hallucinations, whereas negative symptoms involve the absence of normal emotional responses, like a flat affect.

    Positive symptoms refer to behaviors or emotions that are added to “normal” thought processes. For example, a person with schizophrenia may have hallucinations where they hear voices or see objects that are not perceivable by others.

    Negative symptoms refer to behaviors or emotions that are subtracted from “normal” thought processes. In this situation, a person with schizophrenia may display a "flat affect" or no emotion at all.