What is it called when someone repeats the action of another person?

Appeared in: Uttarakhand CHO - 2021

Explanation

Echopraxia is the pathological and involuntary imitation of the movements of another person.
The key part of the question is "repeats the action," which directly corresponds to the definition of echopraxia.
This symptom is considered a disturbance of volition and is a classic feature of catatonia.
It is differentiated from other similar signs by the nature of what is being repeated (actions vs. words).

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option A: Negativism is opposition to or doing the contrary of what is requested, not repeating an action.
Option B: Automatic obedience is an exaggerated, robotic cooperation with requests, not simply imitating an observed action.
Option C: Echolalia refers to the repetition of speech (words or phrases), not actions.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Disturbances in motor behavior and volition in psychiatric nursing as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Recognizing signs like echopraxia is a critical nursing assessment skill, as it can indicate a serious underlying psychiatric condition such as catatonia, which requires specific medical and nursing interventions.
Nurses must carefully document the specific behaviors observed (e.g., "patient mimicked examiner's gesture of scratching head") rather than just labeling it, to provide a clear clinical picture for the diagnostic team.
What if? If the patient not only repeated actions but also showed waxy flexibility (maintaining a position they are placed in), this would further strengthen the evidence for a diagnosis of catatonia.

How to Approach the Question

This is a definition-based recall question.
First, identify the key phrase in the question stem: "repeats the action".
Next, analyze the options, which are all terms for psychiatric signs related to behavior and volition.
Differentiate between the terms based on their specific definitions. 'Echo' refers to repetition, 'praxia' refers to action/movement, and 'lalia' refers to speech.
Match the key phrase "repeats the action" to the term 'Echopraxia' (echo of an action).
Eliminate the other options: Echolalia (echo of speech), Negativism (opposition), and Automatic obedience (excessive compliance).

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Disturbances in motor behavior and volition in psychiatric nursing.
Stem keywords: repeats the action, another person
Lead-in keywords: What is it called
Negative lead-in flag: false

Question ID

QkhwxEocWeOXqG9jQDf8sH

Reference Book

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 2342-2344

E6 Guide to Mental Health & PSYCHIATRIC NURSING R Sreevani— Part 2 (pp 290-564 of 579) p. 268-270

E6 Kaplan Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry-2022 (pp 1-3768 of 3768) p. 3576-3578

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