Clanging

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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. It differs from rapping in the sense that it is not rhythmic, the rhyming may not make any sense, and it is usually involuntary. 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).