Rosenhan Aims, Procedures and Findings, Methodology & Alternative Evidence.

?
  • Created by: bananaaar
  • Created on: 26-03-14 16:37
First Aims and Context for Rosenhan
In 1887 Nellie Bly pretended to be insane to be committed to a mental asylum. She was described as insane and a hopeless case. She then published ten days in a mad house which lead to psychiatric standards being improved in New York.
1 of 47
Laing Aims and Context Rosenhan
Laing suggested it would be best to treat patients such as schizophrenics in the community. Said 'labels' were a way of excluding people from society. Anti-psychiatry movement gave lectures which rosenhan sat in on and inspired him.
2 of 47
What did Laing Believe?
Diagnosis of mental illness was 'useless at best and downright harmful and missleading at its worst'
3 of 47
Goffman Aims and Context for Rosenhan
Worked in a mental asylum as member of staff. Found that patients were viewed as a reflection of their label. The patients then went through 'mortification' as they were depersonalised and stripped of all identities.
4 of 47
Pygmalion Aims and context for Rosenhan
Highlights ideas of self fulfilling prophecy. Teachers were told they had a 'special' group of students with unusual potential, despite them having a range of IQ's. The teachers expectations then became self fulfilling prophecies.
5 of 47
What did pygmalion study find?
Even the weaker students in the goup experienced showed greater increase in iQ over 8 months than the control group.
6 of 47
Rosenhan's aim 1?
To find out if psychiatrics could tell the difference between genuinely ill and those who are not, or between the 'normal' and the 'abnormal'.
7 of 47
Rosehan's aim 2?
To investigate whether the diagnosis of mental illness is based on a patients behaviour or on the environment th epatient is in (labelling) and extent to which this leads to self fulfilling prophecy.
8 of 47
What was rosenhan's research method?
Participant observation in a natural environment which had a degree of control.
9 of 47
Rosenhan's sample?
Staff (doctors and nurses) of 12 varied hospitals.
10 of 47
How many pseudo patients in study 1?
8 (3 females, 5 males including rosenhan himself)
11 of 47
What did the pseudo patients do?
Tried to get admitted to 12 hospitals in the US saying they were hearing voices (of same sex as them) saying 'empty' 'hollow' 'thud'.
12 of 47
What did the pseudo patients say whilst there?
Told the truth about themselves (life, history etc) except from their names and for the voices.
13 of 47
What did patients do when they were admitted?
Behaved normally.
14 of 47
What was pseudo patients daily routine?
Talking to other patients and making notes - first in secret but then openly because the staff did not care.
15 of 47
What were the pseudo patients told?
They had to get out by their own devices. No one was going to help them or go to get them.
16 of 47
What did pseudo's ask staff?
Questions, such as 'pardon me, when am i likely to be discharged?'.
17 of 47
What did study 2 involve?
Telling another hospital that one pseudo would be coming to them within the next 3 months.
18 of 47
What scale was involved in study 2?
Hospital rating from 1-10 how confident they felt about the patient being genuine over the next 3 months.
19 of 47
How many admitted in study 2?
193 aadmitted patients being judged by hospital.
20 of 47
How did rosenhan address ethical issues?
Keeping identity of hospitals and staff confidential.
21 of 47
What were pseudo's admitted diagnosed with?
7 of 8 Schizophrenia, 1 with bipolar. - not one of the 8 was detected as fake by the staff.
22 of 47
What were p's discharged with?
Schizophrenia in remission
23 of 47
Days p's were kept in?
7 to 52 days, a mean on 19 days.
24 of 47
How long per day with psychiatrist?
6.8 minutes.
25 of 47
Rumbled?
Real patients often rumbled the p's by saying things like 'you're not crazy' and 'you're a journalist'.
26 of 47
Tablets?
Each pseudo patient was given a total of 2,100 tablets, only 2 were swallowed.
27 of 47
How was normal behaviour viewed?
In the light of the 'insane place', e.g. 'the patient engaged in writing behaviour'.
28 of 47
Cage?
Staff spent an average of 11% of their shift outside their glass office ('cage'). Came out just 10-11 times per shift
29 of 47
When can i go home?
When ops asked when they could go home they were largely ignored and little eye contact was made. 88% nurses looked away.
30 of 47
Uniform?
Rosenhan found a nurse unbuttoned her uniform to adjust her underwear in front of a male ward - not because she was being seductive, but because she thought they were invisible.
31 of 47
Found in study 2?
41/193 patients were thought to be pseudo's by at least one staff member when in fact Rosenhan sent none.
32 of 47
Conclusion 1?
Psychiatrists cannot reliably tell who is sane and who is insane.
33 of 47
Conclusion 2?
When people are in a psychiatric hospital their behaviour is assumed to reflect their insanity.
34 of 47
Conclusion 3?
Once labelled mentally ill, person becomes 'depersonalised' and thus powerless and their label 'sticks' forever.
35 of 47
Conclusion 4?
A diagnosis of schizophrenia becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and patient behaves accordingly.
36 of 47
Conclusion 5?
Maybe pseudo's were labelled insane because they are biased towards type 2 errors.
37 of 47
Conclusion 6?
'The mentally ill are society's lepers.'
38 of 47
Reliability
Strong as variables were kept consistent (same words etc). Also one patient was excluded as he did not follow guidelines so the consistency/reliability was not threatened.
39 of 47
Internal Validity
Problematic - As 8 pseudo's were not insane, their observations and experiences did not paint a true picture of the insane, e.g. they knew they would be released soon, unlike real patients.
40 of 47
Sampling
Strong - staff were from a variety of hospitals across america, so generalisations could be made. However all 12 hospitals were in america so it could be culturally bias in favour of western methods.
41 of 47
Data
Strong - had quant data so gave objective measure of experiences in hospital and enables comparisons e.g. each pp discharged after a mean of 19 days. However qual data was stronger as it provided detailed view of experiences, e.g. being ignored.
42 of 47
Ethics?
Problematic - doctors and nurses in all 12 hospitals were deceived and believed 8 pseudo's were real. Also in study 2, patients could have been mistreated if they were thought to be fake, so weren't protected. However good as names were confidential.
43 of 47
Alternative Evidence people for Rosenhan?
Goffman, Pygmalion, Slater.
44 of 47
Alternative Evidence 1?
Goffman supports as he found that once labelled, behaviour is viewed as reflection of illness. Supports as shows both studies found damaging consequences of self fulfilling prophecies. R is stronger as he was a patient not staff so was more valid.
45 of 47
Alternative Evidence 2?
Supported by Pygmalion as he also found that ops behaviour was shaped by self-fulfilling prophecies. However Pyg higher on validity as it was a double blind whereas R was a single blind?
46 of 47
Alternative Evidence 3?
Slater challenges as she repeated rosenhan's experiment by herself and was treated well and not diagnosed. Rejects as Rosenhan's voices lead to immediate diagnosis. Howver R was stronger as there was larger sample, whereas Slater could have bias.
47 of 47

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Laing Aims and Context Rosenhan

Back

Laing suggested it would be best to treat patients such as schizophrenics in the community. Said 'labels' were a way of excluding people from society. Anti-psychiatry movement gave lectures which rosenhan sat in on and inspired him.

Card 3

Front

What did Laing Believe?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Goffman Aims and Context for Rosenhan

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Pygmalion Aims and context for Rosenhan

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Psychology resources:

See all Psychology resources »See all Core studies resources »