An examiner passively raises a patient's arm into an awkward, uncomfortable position during examination; the patient then maintains that exact position for several minutes after being released, with no instruction to do so and no attempt to adopt it beforehand. Before revealing the answer: is this a stereotyped posture?
No, this is more consistent with perseveration of posture than with a stereotyped posture. A stereotyped posture may be adopted and sustained spontaneously by the patient; here, the posture arose specifically from the examiner's own passive manipulation and was then maintained, which is the defining pattern of perseveration of posture rather than a spontaneously initiated posture.
References
- Casey, P. & Kelly, B. (2019). Fish's Clinical Psychopathology, 4th ed. Ch. 8, 'Motor Disorders'.