Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Clanging
Introduction
Overview
In psychology and psychiatry, clanging or clang association refers to a form of speech pattern where thinking is driven by word sounds. For example, rhyming or alliteration may lead to the appearance of logical connections where none in fact exists. It may also be mistaken for rapping, in which the rhyming may not make any sense. This, just one manifestation amongst a more general spectrum of thought disorders, is associated with the irregular thinking apparent in psychotic mental illnesses (e.g. schizophrenia).
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]