clinical classic study

Question 1

rosenhan aim’s

Answer 1

aimed to reveal deep flaws in the process of psychiatric diagnosis by demonstrating that psychiatrists were unable to distinguish the sane from the insane

Question 2

rosenhan’s procedure

Answer 2

• 5 male 3 female pseudopaients all complained of the same symptoms (same sex voice that was empty and hollow)
• pseudonyms were used to protect the pseudo patients and those involved in psychology/ medicine gave fake info to avoid suspicion
• if asked they said they no longer heard voices
• approached 12 hospitals- east and west coast, some old , new, well staffed, understaffed, private
• once admitted the pseudo patients behaved normally. in order to be released they had to convince staff they were sane, therefore behaved coorpiratively- followed orders from staff and chatted to patients

Question 3

rosenhan’s findings

Answer 3

• all pseuodopatients were admitted, 7 diagnosed with schizophrenia, 1 with bipolar disorder
• length of hospitalisation ranged from 7 to 52 days
• 30% of patients on the ward voiced suspicions about the pseudo patients saying they were sane and perhaps journalists checking up on the hospital

Question 4

rosenhan’s evaluation (positive)

Answer 4

+ecological validity- covert participant observation. pseudopatients observed physical abuse that stopped when other staff appeared.

+generalisability- 12 hospitals in 5 states on both east and west coast, including private, public, over and understaffed, old and new

+Slater replicated study at 9 psychiatric wards- she was consistently diagnosed with psychotic depression

+reliability- all reported same symptoms

Question 5

rosenhan’s evaluation (negative)

Answer 5

• Reliability- only 1 pseudo patient per hospital
• Demand characteristics- willingness to admit patient-psychiatrist wouldn’t suspect that someone might be pretending, so assumes everyone seeking admission has a good reason to do so
• Ethics- clinicians made to feel incompetent, reputation of the psychiatry was damaged potentially leading to vulnerable people failing to seek support
• Slater- published in a non-fictional book. 96% psychiatrists said they would not have made this diagnosis

Question 6

rosenhan’s conclusion

Answer 6

‘we cannot distinguish the sane from the insane in a psychiatric hospital’

over diagnosis was due to clinicians avoiding calling a sick person healthy because it would be potentially dangerous