Rosenhan Experiment Case Study

The 1960’s was a time of social and cultural revolution during which people questioned the effectiveness of psychiatry. Critics of psychiatry and followers of the anti-psychiatry movement debated the role that diagnosis played in patient 's’ lives, whether mental illness existed at all, and the efficacy of mental health practitioners. Peer assessments of the “Rosenhan Experiment” reflect disagreement within the field as discrepancies and flaws were found. Robert L. Spitzer argued in his 1975 critique of “On Being Sane” that the experiment gave an incorrect impression about a psychologist’s role in determining sanity. He also stated that the central question of the research was flawed because the experiment asked for the detection of sanity

One such study examined whether race or gender played a significant role in the diagnosis a patient received, (Loring, 1988). To do this, a written case study was given to psychologists for diagnosis. Each psychologist received two different cases to diagnose. There were 5 variations of each case; one where the patient’s sex and race were not disclosed, one where the patient was described as a black female, one where the patient was described as a white female, one where the patient was described as a black male, and one where the patient was described as a white male--every other bit of information about the patient stayed consistent. Both of the cases were based on real patients who (had been) diagnosed with undifferentiated schizophrenic disorder with a dependent personality disorder. The findings of this study indicate that the sex and race of the patient does affect the diagnosis. The study further found that the sex and race of the psychiatrist affected the diagnosis as well (Loring, 1988).
Our group members feel that Rosenhan’s “On Being Sane in Insane Places” is an important topic for psychology majors to explore because of the impact it had on Psychology. This study highlighted the fact that diagnostic labels linger beyond the presence of symptoms. It also showed the lack of attention patients were receiving from the staff at psychiatric hospitals in the time period the experiment was conducted. Beyond the experiment itself, it led to further research which was important to the