Who

1
Whos Crazy Here Anyway?

• By D. L. Rosenhan
• Presented by
• Amy Chicos
• Craig Shadden
• Ashley Ferin
• Angie Flowers
• Stacey Wall
• Jackie Jensen

2

• The question of how to discriminate between
  normal and abnormal behavior is fundamental in
  psychology
• Definition of abnormality key in determining
  whether or not someone is mentally ill and
  largely determines treatment.

3
Criteria used to determine abnormal behavior

• Bizarreness of Behavior
• This can be a subjective judgment but some
  behaviors are obviously bizarre.
• Ex. Washing your car while it is raining

4
Criteria cont.

• Persistence of Behavior
• Abnormal behavior may be exhibited occasionally,
  however to be considered mental illness it needs
  to occur on a regular basis over time.
• Ex. Dancing down the street every day

5
Criteria Cont.

• Social Deviance
• When a persons behavior radically violates the
  expected norms of society.
• Ex. Thinking you see a large penguin when there
  isnt one present.

6
Criteria Cont.

• Subjective Distress
• When a person is aware of their own psychological
  difficulties. This can be very helpful to mental
  health professionals when making a psychological
  diagnosis.
• Ex. When somebody is aware of their fear of
  heights.

7
Criteria Cont.

• Psychological Handicap
• When a person finds it impossible to be satisfied
  with life due to psychological problems.
• Ex. A person who fears success sabotages each new
  endeavor in life.

8
Criteria Cont.

• Effect on Functioning
• The extent to which the behavior affects the
  persons ability to live the life that he/she
  desires.
• Ex. While it may be weird to stand on your bed
  every night and sing the National Anthem, it
  isnt considered abnormal unless it has some
  negative effect.

9
Rosenhan, D.L. (1973) Study

• David Rosenhans purpose was to question the
  ability of mental health professionals to truly
  distinguish between mentally ill and mentally
  healthy people. He also wanted to explore the
  consequences of inaccurate diagnoses.

10
Method

• Rosenhan enlisted eight subjects to serve as
  pseudopatients.
• 3 women, 5 men
• 1 graduate student, 3 psychologists, 1
  pediatrician, 1 psychiatrist, 1 painter, and 1
  homemaker.

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Method, Cont.

• The subjects mission was to present themselves
  for admission to 12 psychological hospitals in
  the United States.
• They would complain of hearing voices that said
  empty, hollow, and thud.
• They acted completely normal otherwise.
• All but one person was admitted with
  schizophrenia.
• Once in the hospital they acted normal.

12
Results

• Length of hospital stay for the pseudopatients
  ranged from 7 days to 52 days with an average of
  19 days.
• Key finding not one of the pseudopatients was
  detected by anyone on the hospital staff.
• 35 of 118 real patients in the hospitals realized
  the pseudopatients were faking their illness.

13
Discussion

• This study demonstrated that normal people cannot
  be distinguished from the mentally ill in a
  hospital setting.
• This is because of the influence of the hospital
  setting on the staffs judgment of the patients
  behavior.

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Significance of Findings

• It appeared that the sane could not be
  distinguished from the insane in hospital
  settings.
• The hospital itself imposes a special
  environment in which the meaning of behavior can
  be easily misunderstood. The consequences to
  patients hospitalized in such an environmentseem
  undoubtedly countertherapeutic.

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Significance cont.

• Danger of diagnostic labels
• Once a person is labeled as having a certain
  illness they are treated differently.
• All behavior and personality is then seen as
  stemming from the disorder.
• This can also become self-confirming.

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Criticisms

• Main Critic Spitzer
• Argued that Rosenhans methods didnt actually
  invalidate psychological diagnostic systems.
• Not difficult for pseudopatients to lie their way
  into a mental hospital.
• Admissions are usually based on verbal reports.
• Symptom variation is normal once admitted.

17
Questions

• Do you think that labels for mentally ill people
  should be completely eliminated? Why or why not?
• Have you or anyone you know ever treated anyone
  differently based on their label?
• Do you think the labels applied to people become
  part of their central characteristic or
  personality trait?
• Would you ever volunteer to do a study like this?