An examiner gently raises a patient's arm; it moves easily and without unusual resistance, and the patient immediately lowers it back down themselves once released, clearly attentive and following the examiner's actions. Before revealing the answer: is this waxy flexibility?
No. This is simple cooperation with the examiner, not waxy flexibility — the phenomenon's own text is explicit that waxy flexibility differs from ordinary cooperation precisely because a cooperating limb moves easily and does not remain fixed in an unusual position once released, exactly the opposite of what's described here.
References
- Casey, P. & Kelly, B. (2019). Fish's Clinical Psychopathology, 4th ed. Ch. 8, 'Motor Disorders'.