During a mental status examination, a patient shouts angrily at the nurse, "You are too nosy for your own good!" Then, almost immediately, happily says, "Well, let's let bygones be bygones and be buddies."

The nurse assesses this emotional display as: a. labile affect.
b. hallucinations.
c. magical thinking.
d. ideas of reference.


A
Lability is identified when the patient's affect shifts rapidly, such as from happy to sad or angry to elated. The remaining options are thought-content descriptors.

Nursing

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