Avolition is a psychological state characterized by general lack of drive, or motivation to pursue meaningful goals. A person may show little participation in work or have little interest in socializing. They may sit still for long periods of time.^[1] It is commonly seen in patients with schizophrenia, and is one of the four main "negative" symptoms of that disorder. Other characteristics are flat affect, alogia,anhedonia, and asociality.^[2] It is sometimes mistaken for simple disinterest or anhedonia but is distinct. People with avolition may want to complete certain tasks but lack the motivation to complete them.

Blunted affect is the scientific term describing a lack of emotional reactivity on the part of an individual. It is manifest as a failure to express feelings either verbally or non-verbally, even when talking about issues that would normally be expected to engage the emotions. Expressive gestures are rare and there is little animation in facial expression or in vocal inflection.^[1]

alogia (Greek α-, “without”, and λόγος, “speech”^[1]), or poverty of speech, is a general lack of additional, unprompted content seen in normal speech. As a symptom, it is commonly seen in patients suffering from schizophrenia, and is considered as a negative symptom. It can complicate psychotherapy severely because of the considerable difficulty in holding a fluent conversation.

People can revert to alogia as a way of reverse psychology, or avoiding questions.

Example of alogia
Alogia	Normal speech
Q: Do you have any children? A: Yes. Q: How many? A: Two. Q: How old are they? A: Six and sixteen. Q: Are they boys or girls? A: One of each. Q: Who is the sixteen year old? A: The boy. Q: What is his name? A: Edmond. Q: And the girl's? A: Alice.	Q: Do you have any children? A: Yes, a boy and a girl. Q: How old are they? A: Edmond is sixteen and Alice is six.

anhedonia ( /ˌænhiˈdoʊniə/ an-hee-doh-nee-ə; Greek: ἀν- an-, "without" + ἡδονή hēdonē, "pleasure") is defined as the inability to experience pleasure from activities usually found enjoyable, e.g. hobbies, exercise, social interaction or sexual activity.

Anhedonia can be a characteristic of mental disorders including mood disorders, schizoaffective disorder, schizoid personality disorder and schizophrenia. Affected schizophrenic patients describe themselves as feeling emotionally empty.^[1]

Asociality is a symptom frequently observed in schizophrenia patients. It is characterised by an inability to 'empathise', to feel intimacy with, or to form close relationships with others (Davidson & Neale 1994).

Asociality is not necessarily perceived as a totally negative trait by society, since expressing asociality has been used as a way to express independence of the mind from prevailing ideas (dissent). Expressing asociality can also be used as a form of humour to indicate an issue (e.g. used for pointing out the exaggerations of social network services (Kahney 2004)).