Rosenhan Evaluation

Question 1

Generalisability

Answer 1

Negative- The study can be seen as no longer generalisable in today’s society as it was cons in the 70’s and there has been advancements in the way that we diagnose people now. Also not generalisable as it was conducted in only the USA so it cannot be generalised to outside the USA.

Positive- it can be seen as generalisable as he used 12 different psychiatric hospitals in 5 different states in the USA this shows that it can be more easily generalised to other hospitals in the USA.

Question 2

Reliability

Answer 2

Positive- The study used standardised procedures, the PPTS all stated that they had a voice in their head saying ‘empty’ , ‘hollow’ , ‘thud’. They then stopped displaying any symptoms when they were admitted. This fact that all the participants did the same thing means that other researchers can replicate this study and check for consistency in the results.

Negative- rosenhan said that the ppts in the study did stray from the procedures, and one ppt did even have to get taken out of the study due to the amount of procedures they broke.

Question 3

Application

Answer 3

This has wide application the fact that the reliability of diagnosis is weak and needs improvement and the fact that it has now changed shows that this can be applied to make sure that people get the right diagnosis and treatment for their disorder.

Question 4

Validity

Answer 4

Ecological- high ecological validly as the nurses were in their natural environment and they will be displaying the actions that they usually would when they are at work.

Internal- the data that the PPTs collected was qualitative this can be misinterpreted by researchers and is subject to bias by the pseudo patients, the PPTs said they felt dehumanised when they were in the hospital so the observations that they made against the nurses and towards the patients could be quite biased.

Question 5

Ethics

Answer 5

Deception- the psychologists that diagnosed the PPTs were all deceived and this could be seen as unethical

Right to withdraw- the PPTs did have the right to withdraw their info and they did not have to participate but when they were inside the psychiatric hospital it was not possible for them to withdraw.

Informed consent- the PPTs were told what they were going to go through but the staff did not have any such information and they did not know they were part of the study, this could be argued as important for the study as this is the only way that they could get the real actions of the nurses in the hospital