For long time before Rosenhan conducted his experiment, there had been historical attempts of classifying abnormal behaviors. Notably, medical model was the most common approach in understanding and classifying abnormal behaviors. The medical model mainly specified with treating mental illnesses (Kleinman, 2012). The model is also known as psychiatry with psychiatrists being medical doctors among other practitioners trained to handle mental related illnesses. Since the early 1950s, the medical approach had been used for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM) for classifying abnormal behaviors. Nonetheless, in the 1960s, the model was highly criticized especially among psychotherapists and psychiatrists. This criticism led to the anti-psychiatry movement. The movement’s concern was that the principles of the medical approach were defective in classifying and identifying persons with abnormality correctly (Huss, 2009). David Rosenhan was among the critics of the medical model, and in response he decided to conduct an experiment that would be more effective; an alternative for the medical model.
The main purpose of the Rosenhan’s Experiment was to test the hypothesis that using the medical model, psychiatrists could not reliably identify the difference in sane and insane persons. Therefore, he got into a field experiment where he succeeded in manipulating the pseudo patients’ symptoms (Huss, 2009). Additionally, the study involved participant observation; on admission, the pseudo patients took notes on how the wards were operated and how they were treated individually. This research experiment was conducted in two parts with the first part involving 8 sane persons who were psychology graduate students in their 20s. The research also involved:
One painter
Three psychologists
One pediatrician
One housewife
These participants attempted
Madness: A History, a film by the Films Media Group, is the final installment of a five part series, Kill or Cure: A History of Medical Treatment. It presents a history of the medical science community and it’s relationship with those who suffer from mental illness. The program uses original manuscripts, photos, testimonials, and video footage from medical archives, detailing the historical progression of doctors and scientists’ understanding and treatment of mental illness. The film compares and contrasts the techniques utilized today, with the methods of the past. The film offers an often grim and disturbing recounting of the road we’ve taken from madness to illness.
Kaplan, H. I., Sadock, B. J., & Grebb, J. A. (1994). Synopsis of psychiatry: behavioral sciences,
... J. H., & Manos, M. J. (2004). Abnormal Psychology: Current Perspectives 9th ed. In L. B. Alloy, J. H. Riskind, & M. J. Manos, The Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sociocultural Perspectives (pp. 75-104). New York: McGraw Hill.
The name schizophrenia is derived from "schizo", which means splitting of the mind (Tsuang 11), and "phrenia" which is derived from the phrenic area which is just above the kidneys where the diaphragm is located. It is a structure innervated by the phrenic nerve. The Greeks and others assumed that the phrenic area was the seat of thought or at least feelings (Berle 12).
David Rosenhans experiment contained two parts; the first was admitting pseudo-patients into psychiatric hospitals without the doctors or nurses knowledge. David Rosenhan and his participants all willingly committed themselves to the psychiatric hospital. “8 people without any history of psychiatric illness presented themselves at various mental hospitals. Each of these pseudo-patients arrived at the admissions office complaining of a single (feigned) symptom: vague auditory hallucinations” (Scribner). All of the participants came from a different background and were admitted into several different hospitals.
Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to the history of psychology (6th ed., p. 224,
This assignment is to discuss abnormality in mental health and the medical models used to diagnose mental disorders namely depression and eating disorders, why these models can be unreliable and theories behind what causes these disorders, whether it be environmental (nurture) or hereditary (nature) and how different cultures and societies can have an impact on diagnosing these disorders.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Rector, N. A. (2011). Abnormal psychology. (2 ed., p. 297, 321, 322,
...reader to gain inside thought into how bad the mental condition is affecting him as his behavior allows for further indication of craziness as a result from the schizophrenia. The evidence presented in this play for the scientific explanation of this literary classic is quite prominent as it gives an insight into what a schizophrenic acts, thinks, and behaves like.
1. What was the main thesis of the article and what does the article tell us about deviance? According to Rosenhan, what were the reasons why the pseudo-patients were never detected as sane?
Maher, B. A., & Maher, W. B. (1985). Psychopathology: I. From ancient times to the eighteenth
Classification refers to the procedure in which ideas or objects are recognized, distinguished and understood. Currently, two leading systems are used for grouping of mental disorder namely International Classification of Disease (ICD) by World Health Organization (WHO) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders (DSM) by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Other classifications include Chinese classification of mental disorder, psycho-dynamic diagnostic manual, Latin American guide for psychiatric diagnosis etc. A survey of 205 psychiatrists, from 66 different countries across all continents, found that ICD-10 was more customarily used and more valued in clinical practice, while the DSM-IV was more valued for research [1].
“Legal, Ethical and Professional Issues” (Chapter 15) is an chapter in the textbook “Abnormal Psychology.” Just like the name of the chapter, it helps understand legal, ethical, and professional issues related to the practice of psychology. It also discuss the positive and negative aspects of deinstitutionalization and understand the difference between criminal and civil
In the field of psychology many models have approached metal illness from different perspectives. Psychologists use models to depict or explain things that cannot be perceive. Psychologists use these models in order to explain, comprehend and treat mental illness. These models include the behavioral model, the psychodynamic model and the humanistic model. All of these models approach and explain mental illness from different perspectives.
Barlow, D., Durand, V., & Stewart, S. (2009). Abnormal psychology an integrative apporach. (2nd ed.). United States of America: Wadsworth