Distinguish flight of ideas from loose associations.

• A. Illogical or absent connections between thoughts
• B. Excessive detail that eventually answers questions
• C. Rapid shifting of ideas with a stream-of-consciousness feel and plausible connections
• D. Repetition of a previous topic

Answer: (C)

Flight of ideas presents as rapid, pressured thinking where ideas rush from one topic to another in a stream-of-consciousness style. The key is that, even though the speech is fast and thoughts seem to race, there are plausible connections or a recognizable thread tying the ideas together. That combination—speed with seemingly logical or thematic links—is what distinguishes it from other thought disorders.

Loose associations, by contrast, show illogical or loose, jumpy connections between ideas, so the transitions feel random or unrelated and the overall train of thought becomes hard to follow.

The other descriptions don’t fit flight of ideas: one describes thoughts with illogical or absent connections, which is the hallmark of loose associations; another describes someone who gives excessive detail that eventually answers a question, which points to circumstantial thinking; and repetition of a topic reflects perseveration.