rosenham Flashcards
what was the aim of rosenham?
wanted to test the reliability of a mental health diagnosis, to see if medical professionals could tell the sane from insane
was it an experiment?
no an observation
who were the participants?
staff and patients at the 12 hospitals
where were the hospitals?
in five states on the east and west coast of the US
who knew about the pseudo patients?
the hospital administrator and chief psychologist
how many pseudo patients were they and who were they?
8 (3 women and 5 men)
confederates
was rosenham a pseudo patient?
yes
what was the procedure?
-pseudo-patients called the hospital and asked for an appointment
-arrived at the admissions office saying that they were hearing voices
-voices were unclear but seemed to be saying ‘empty’, ‘hollow’ or ‘thud’
-words were chosen as they seem to place emphasis on the person’s life
-Other than changing their name or profession, their personal history was accurate
There was no existence of any previous or current pathological behaviour
Once admitted, the pseudo-patients stopped displaying any symptoms of abnormality. Some were nervous, not having believed that they would be so easily admitted, but otherwise they would behave as they ‘normally’ would. They were given medication that they did not swallow, responded to staff and chatted to other patients. Each was told that they would have to convince staff that they were ‘sane’ in order to be released. Rosenhan measured how many days it took for their release to take place. All but one wanted to be released immediately, so they all complied to acting ‘normally’ and abiding the instructions from staff. The pseudo-patients made notes of observations about their time on the ward. Initially these were done in private but then out in the openness of the ward when it was realised that the staff were not suspicious of the behaviour.
how would patients have to be released?
convince staff that they were sane?
what did patients act like when they were admitted?
normal
what did staff do once in the wards?
took notes
were notes taken in the open?
only once they were sure staff were not suspicious
what words were chosen as the voices?
thud empty and hollow
what was changed about the patients information?
just the name and occupation, all personal background stayed the same
how did patients get in touch with the hospital?
called them up
what did patients report?
hearing voices
what did rosenham measure?
how many days it took to be released
were patients given drugs?
yes but did not swallow