clinical: rosenhan 1973 Flashcards
summary
aim= To see if the important characteristics in diagnosis reside in patients or environment/contexts we find them in.
procedure=Range of 12 hospitals in USA, pseudopatients gained admission too by giving symptom of hearing voices and a false name/job. After admission ‘acted normal’ and told they had to get released by themselves. Rosenhan informed a lawyer and the head of the hospitals.
results=None liked the experience, 7-52 day average. 35/118 actual patients suspected their fraud. ‘writting behaviour’ was observed. Patient to nurse contact was less than 7 minutes a day.
conc=cant distinguish sane from insane, the pseudopatients experience doesn’t show that of real patients as they don’t have comfort of knowing diagnosis is fake.
ethics
Informed consent from pseudopatients but not from staff. Receipt could have caused harm such as embarrassment.right to withdraw though of as lawyer informed. Limited the people he used.
practical issues
All gave the same symptoms but may have been individual differences when ‘acting normal’, being them sees may have been hard.
- also the decision to select a variety of real hospitals across the USA means that the results about the diagnosis of mh issues and treatment increased validity.
reductionism
Patients symptoms reduced to voices in the head. ‘writing behaviour’, reduces voices down to suit real-life. Diagnosis doesn’t rest on one symptom of hearing voices.
- reduced complexity of Sz to 3 words.
- staff reduced behaviour to symptoms
- diagnosing mental disorders is reductionist because you simplify to smaller parts to understand the disorder.
comparisons
Medical model of diagnosis and rebelling, to see if all could be admitted then act normal, length of time to get out or kept in.
psych as science
Less scientific due to fewer controls in hospital setting and use of qualitative data as no hypothesis tested, controlled symptoms then acted normal, data is qualitative and more like separate case studies.
culture and gender
Had both male and female participants and didn’t report gender differences. Study didn’t represent culture as all in USA, dam is different from icd which is used worldwide.
nature/ nurture
More nurture as diagnosis was based around culture ad social norms rather than biology. Focused on diagnosis and how the situation understood behaviour of pseudopatients. Diagnosis done in culture learns how to react to disorders vie nurture. How they’re interpreted
psych undertanding over time
Has stood test of time as is still used today to show danger of rebelling in diagnosis. Has practical relevance in field of diagnosing using classification systems.
social control
Being unable to get out of hospital is control over saying they hear voices. It took 7-52 days to get out which is control. Normal behaviour is controlled as they’re given drugs.
psych knowledge in society
Useful to know extent of labelling as guides how we see others with mental disorders. Worried that deciding who is sane and insane isn’t straightforward. Labelling can be overuses - ‘writting behaviour’
socially sensitive research
Individuals may have liberties restricted. Participants had liberty restricted and labelled as mentally ill.
- labels outside of institution - prejudice/ self fulfilling prophecy
