study 1

• aim of rosenhan?

  can the sane be distinguished from the insane?

  • he wanted to challenge diagnostic systems for mental health and thought diagnosis was invalid
• procedure of rosenhan?

  8 pseudopatients, 3 women 5 men. 1 psychology student, 3 psychologists (mixed occupations). each of them had to phone admissions office (12 hospitals total that had a range of good/ bad/ old/ new) and say they were hearing voices saying, 'empty, hollow, thud'.

  • gave false name for protection and job, everything else was kept the same like family relations.
  • admitted as all having schiz (1 had manic depression with psychosis), and then acted 'normal'. main job was to observe life in the ward.
• results of rosenhan?

  sanity was never discovered, discharged with schiz in remission.

  • average stay= 19 days, shortest= 7, longest= 52.
  • staff treated researchers like diagnosis, eg note-taking was 'writing behaviour', pacing corridor due to boredom was being 'nervous'
  • total of 2,100 meds were given
• conclusion of rosenhan?

  diagnostic label will change perception of a person so all behaviours are interpreted in context of the label which can lead to self fulfilling prophecy.

  • sanity wasn't detected