Rosenhan Methodology

A strength of this research is that the method of natural observation gives a more realistic picture of spontaneous behaviour, therefore has high ecological validity. Real doctors and real nurses were involved and they were not aware that they were taking part in a study. This was a strength as the pseudo patients were observing 'real' behaviour in a real setting, i.e the hospitals.

Although the study only involved eight pseudo patients and 12 hospitals, care was taken to ensure that the hospitals chosen were representative of the range available to the public. Therefore, although the study had a small sample, it was quite representative and has the ability to generalise.

The procedure can be said to have good internal validity, which is a strength as the pseudo patients and the professionals they came into contact with had consistent experiences. Also the conclusions of the main procedure are highly consistent of the follow up research. Furthermore, the findings of this research are consistent with its replications…