OCR AS Psychology: Core Studies - Rosenhan (4)

Powerlessness & Depersonalisation: Rosenhan noted that experience of hospitalisation for the pseudo-p's was one of depersonalisation and powerlessness. Examples of these include: Patients being deprived of many human rights such as: Freedom of movement and privacy
Medical records were open to all staff members regardless of status or therapeutic relationship with the patient
Personal hygiene was monitored and many toilets had no doors
Patients were given approx 2100 tablets but only 2 were swallowed. The rest were either pocketed or flushed down the toilet. Often, when the patients went to flush the tablets down the toilet, they'd find the other tablets of other patients placed there too. As long as the patients were co-operative, they're behaviour went unnoticed. The records the pseudo-p's had made about the amount of time the nurses had stayed in the ward offices was about 90% of the time, and the number of times medical staff came onto the ward was about under 7 minutes per day. The 2nd Study - Procedure: The staff of a teaching and research hopsital who were aware of the 1st study, were falsely informed that during the next 3 months one or more pseudo-patient would attmept to be admitted in their hospital. Staff members were asked to rate on a 10-point scale each new patients to the likelihood of being a pseudo-patient.Results (2nd Study):

• Number of patients judged = 193
  
• Number of patients confidently judged as pseudo patients by at least one staff member = 41
  
• Number of patients suspected of being a pseudo patient by 1 psychiatrist = 23
  
• Number of patients suspected of being a pseudo patient by 1 psychiatrist AND another staff member = 19