Rosenhan (Classic)

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

• Can sane people be admitted into a psychiatric institution
• To see if diagnosis was in fact valid

Question 2

Participants

Answer 2

• 8 pseudopatients
• 5(M) 3(F)
• From various occupations and ages e.g student and housewife

Question 3

Procedure/Method (Study 1)

Answer 3

• 12 hospitals in USA - both modern and old
• Some well staffed, poor staffed and 1 private hospital
• Tell the admissions office they heard voices saying “empty, hollow, and thud”
• Tell complete truths about their lives
• Once admitted stopped repotted symptoms and behave normally
• Secretly took notes
• Didn’t consume medication given

Question 4

Procedure (Study 2/3)

Answer 4

2:
- Informed staff at a hospital that had heard about the first study and believed it couldn’t happen to them that over the next 3 months pseudopatients would be coming
- Asked to rate on 10 point scale of their confidence of admissions
- 193 patients judged
3:
- The way that staff responded to pseudopatients
- Asked: when will I be presented at the staff meeting?
- When am I likely to be discharged?
- Could you tell me when I will be eligible for grounds privileges?

Question 5

Findings (study 1)

Answer 5

• all patients admitted (7 schiz 1 bi polar)
• discharge w/ schizophrenia in remission
• average length of 19 days - rosenhan 52
• contact w/ patients and staff limited - just 6.8 minutes

Question 6

Findings (study 2/3)

Answer 6

2:
- 41 judged to be pseudopatients by at least 1 member of staff
- 23 by at least 1 psychiatrist
- 19 by 1 member of staff and 1 psychiatrist
3:
- most answers were brief
- didn’t stop and had no eye contact
- only 0.5% of nurses stopped

Question 7

Conclusions

Answer 7

• 1&2 suggest diagnosis is not very valid
• all given similar diagnosis so reliability of diagnosis in clinical setting
• all labelled with schizophrenia in remission so labels of diagnosis can stick and shape future
• 3 showed how in-patients are dehumanised
• treated with very little respect - led to bizarre and abnormal behaviour

Question 8

Evaluation (G)

Answer 8

• Range of occupations and ages
• Both males and females
• Range of hospitals - varying in condition
• Ethnocentric - just America

Question 9

Evaluation (R)

Answer 9

• Ensured they all had the same symptoms

- Subtle differences between recordings - assessments of hospital life not consistent

Question 10

Evaluation (V)

Answer 10

• Natural setting - doctors didn’t know it was happening
• Less demand characteristics- doctors changing the way they were
• Accurate perception
• Real world setting - ecological validity
• Take notes at the time w/ no time delay - disinterest of the staff
• Subjective recordings - medication and distress change recordings

Question 11

Evaluation (E)

Answer 11

• Nurses, doctors and actual patients deceived
• Actual patients could question their own diagnosis- protection from harm
• Subjected to long term harm - made a mockery, seen as fake when not
• Socially sensitive- shock waves across community, distrust
• Benefits outweigh costs - classifications changed for the better