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Issues in Mental Health

Rosenhan (1973) on being sane in insane places: background and procedure

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 03

Overview

Recall questions on the aim of Rosenhan's 1973 study On being sane in insane places, the pseudopatients and hospitals, the symptom reported on admission, behaviour on the ward, diagnoses, discharge, length of stay and who suspected them.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Why did Rosenhan choose the symptom his pseudopatients reported?

Process

How did the pseudopatients behave once admitted?

Key term

Who made up the sample of pseudopatients?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What question was Rosenhan's research designed to answer?

    Model answer

    Whether staff in psychiatric hospitals can reliably tell the sane from the insane, or whether a diagnosis reveals more about the setting than about the patient.

  2. 2

    Who made up the sample of pseudopatients?

    Model answer

    Eight sane volunteers, five men and three women including Rosenhan himself, whose real occupations ranged from psychologist and psychiatrist to paediatrician, painter and homemaker.

  3. 3

    How many hospitals were involved, and how varied were they?

    Model answer

    Twelve hospitals across five states on both coasts of the United States, ranging from old and understaffed public institutions to one well-resourced private hospital.

  4. 4

    What single symptom did each pseudopatient report at admission?

    Model answer

    Each said they had been hearing an unfamiliar voice of the same sex saying words such as empty, hollow and thud.

  5. 5

    What information did the pseudopatients falsify, and what did they report truthfully?

    Model answer

    Only their name and occupation were false; their life history, relationships and feelings were all reported honestly.

  6. 6

    How did the pseudopatients behave once admitted?

    Model answer

    They stopped reporting any symptoms immediately and behaved entirely normally, cooperating with staff and asking to be released.

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