Classic Study Rosenhan 1973 Flashcards
rosehan 1st eval
The aim of Rosenhan’s study was to see if the sane can be distinguished from the insane using the DSM, and to see what life is like in a mental institution.(AO1) This gives the study high ecological validity because the staff and patients were being observed in their natural environment of a psychiatric hospital so it is a real life setting being studied. (AO3) However, the study is low in construct validity as it tested whether psychiatrists could identify a sane person acting insane, not whether they could distinguish between the sane and the insane, so the real aim was not tested. (AO3)
rosenham 2nd eval
It was a covert participant observation, taking place in 12 psychiatric hospitals in 5 states of USA. 8 pseudo-patients contacted the hospitals by phone reporting a same-sex, unfamiliar voice saying empty, hollow and thud’. (AO1) There was a standardised procedure in the sense that all pseudo-patients told the hospitals the same thing; that they could hear a same-sex, unfamiliar voice saying ‘empty, hollow and thud’, everything else they said was true - this could be replicated to test for reliability. (AO3) Further support comes from the ‘90s, Lauren Slater presented herself at 9 emergency rooms explaining she could hear a voice saying ‘thud’ and she was diagnosed with depression with psychosis and given medication; this supports Rosenhan’s findings and suggests there are still problems with the diagnostic process.(AO3)
rosenhan 3rd eval
Once the pseudo-patients were admitted, they acted normally, cooperated with staff, took part in ward activities. Some pseudo-patients recorded their observations by taking notes. (AO1) The use of a covert participant observation gave the study high validity because the pseudo-patients could see what life was really like inside a mental institution from the patients’ point of view. (AO3) However Qualitative data was gathered as the pseudo-patients took notes on the behaviour of the staff and patients - this behaviour needed to be interpreted so it is subjective, reducing validity.(AO3)
rosenham 4th eval
The average length of stay in the hospital was 19 days (shortest 7, longest 52) ; they were released with schizophrenia in remission. They were given an average of 15 pills a day (although they did not take them). Pseudo-patients reported that staff in the hospitals made eye-contact with them only 23% of the time and patients were ignored by staff 71% of the time (AO1) However, the study was only conducted in the USA so it is culturally biased and may be difficult to generalise the findings beyond the USA; attitudes and the treatment of mental illness may vary between cultures. (AO3) Staff were not fully protected as when they found out about the study they may have felt ashamed or embarrassed about not being able to identify the pseudo-patients and for how they were treated.
(AO3)
rosenham 5th eval
The pseudo-patients’ behaviour was interpreted in relation to their mental illness e.g. note-taking was described as ‘bouts of obsessive writing behaviour’(AO1)
In addition, their notes may have been affected by their emotions and relationships with the staff / real patients, which may have reduced the objectivity, further reducing the validity of the findings.(AO3)
rosenham 6th eval
Rosenhan concluded that psychiatrists cannot distinguish between the sane and insane and that the diagnostic label affects the perception of the person. (AO1) This study is socially sensitive as it has negative implications for those in the psychiatric professions and it could impact those who have family members in psychiatric institutions. (AO3)
