Rosenhan- Being Sane In Insane Places

Summary

In the late 19th century, journalist Nellie Bly feigned insanity to expose asylum conditions, while in the 1970s, psychologist David Rosenhan's 'On Being Sane in Insane Places' study challenged the reliability of psychiatric diagnosis. Rosenhan and his colleagues, posing as patients, were admitted to 12 hospitals with a fabricated symptom. Despite behaving normally post-admission, none were detected as sane by staff, raising questions about the validity of psychiatric practices and the treatment of mental health patients.

Takeaways

• 🏥 In the 19th century, madness started being seen as a disease managed by psychiatrists, leading to the establishment of asylums.
• 🔍 Journalist Nellie Bly feigned insanity in 1887 to expose the ease of misdiagnosis and the poor conditions within asylums.
• 📚 Nellie Bly's book '10 Days in a Mad-House' detailed her experiences and critiqued the psychiatric practices of her time.
• 🤔 The 1960s and 1970s were periods of significant questioning of established ideas, including psychiatry, leading to the rise of anti-psychiatry.
• 🧠 Thomas Szasz and other anti-psychiatrists argued that mental illness was a myth and that psychiatry was a pseudoscience.
• 👨‍⚕️ David Rosenhan's experiment in the 1970s aimed to test the reliability of psychiatric diagnoses by having healthy individuals pretend to be patients.
• 🗣️ Rosenhan's 'pseudopatients' only faked one symptom, saying they heard a voice saying 'empty,' to test diagnostic accuracy.
• 🏥 All pseudopatients were admitted to hospitals with a diagnosis of insanity, despite not exhibiting any other symptoms.
• 🕵️‍♂️ Once admitted, pseudopatients behaved normally but were never recognized as sane by hospital staff.
• 📉 Rosenhan's study highlighted the potential flaws in psychiatric diagnosis and the experience of being a patient in a mental hospital.

Q & A

What was the main purpose of Nelly Bly's undercover investigation at the asylum?

Nelly Bly's main purpose was to test the reliability of psychiatric diagnosis and to expose the terrible conditions inside the asylum.

How did Nelly Bly manage to get admitted to the women's lunatic asylum in New York?

Nelly Bly feigned insanity by pulling strange faces, tugging her hair out, and claiming everyone around her was crazy, which led to her being admitted by two doctors.

What was the significance of the symptom the pseudo-patients used in David Rosenhan's experiment?

The pseudo-patients used the symptom of hearing a voice saying 'Hollow, empty, thud' which did not represent any known schizophrenic disorder, allowing Rosenhan to test whether doctors would diagnose them as insane despite the lack of typical symptoms.

What were the two aims of David Rosenhan's study on psychiatric diagnosis?

The two aims were to investigate whether psychiatric labels would be used inappropriately in the absence of symptoms, and to observe the experience of being a patient in a psychiatric hospital.

How many of the pseudo-patients in Rosenhan's experiment were detected as sane by the hospital staff?

None of the pseudo-patients were ever detected as sane by the hospital staff during their stay.

What was the role of the anti-psychiatry movement in the 1960s and 70s?

The anti-psychiatry movement questioned the medical model of mental illness, suggesting that it was a pseudo-science and that the concept of mental illness was a myth.

What did Thomas Szasz argue about the nature of psychiatry and mental illness?

Thomas Szasz argued that psychiatry was a pseudo-science and that the very idea of mental illness was a myth.

How did Irving Goffman suggest that mental hospitals could contribute to insanity?

Irving Goffman suggested that the mere presence in a mental hospital could be enough to drive people insane due to the dehumanizing and stigmatizing environment.

What was the title of David Rosenhan's study, and what does it signify?

The title of the study was 'On Being Sane in Insane Places', signifying the experiment's focus on the experience and perception of sanity within psychiatric institutions.

What was the reaction of the hospital staff when the pseudo-patients claimed their symptoms had disappeared?

Despite the pseudo-patients claiming their symptoms had disappeared and expressing a desire to be released, the hospital staff did not detect their sanity and continued to treat them as patients.

How long did it take for one of the pseudo-patients to be released from the hospital?

One of the pseudo-patients was not released until two months after their admission, despite behaving normally and claiming their symptom had disappeared.