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Drug Treatment for Depression

The use of drugs to treat unipolar depression is based on the biological explanation for depression, the monoamine hypothesis. They work by increasing levels of monoamines, namely serotonin, which helps regulate levels of other important mood-related monoamines. There are many different types of anti-depressant, although some are more effective than others. Here are some examples of types of anit-depressant drugs:

monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI’s) work by temporarily inhibiting monoamine oxidase, the enzyme that breaks down the monoamines, helping them to stay in the body longer so they can continue working

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) work by blocking reuptake of serotonin so it stays in the body longer

atypical drugs target noradrenaline and dopamine levels as well as serotonin

None of the above drugs are completely free from side effects (which include, nausea, dizziness, weight gain, insomnia, headaches and fatigue) although newer drugs do have less; MAOI’s were the first anti-depressant drugs created, so they have severe side effects and need dietary restrictions in order to work, therefore only used as a last resort. Patients can become reliant on anti-depressant drugs in order to function, so when a patient stops taking them, the amount they take each day must slowly be reduced so that their body can become accustomed to functioning without the drug.

Drug treatment is supported by Kuyken et al’s (2008) findings, which showed anti-depressants to be effective at treating depression and preventing relapse across an eight week trial when compared to CBT. Drugs are useful for temporarily boosting the mood of severely depressed patients in order for them to attend other therapies like CBT. Plus, researchers are continuously investigating possible new anti-depressants with even fewer side effects than existing drugs.

However, a 2006 government study showed that only 50% of those who take anti-depressants become symptom free, with many relapsing despite continuously taking the medication. Anti-depressants are not a long term solution or cure to depression, as they only help to ease symptoms and are not effective unless a patient is taking them regularly. They also cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when a patient must stop taking them.

#psychology #A2 psychology #clinical psychology #biological approach

The Monoamine Hypothesis

Monoamines are a group of neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine and noreadrenaline/norepinephrine that have dramatic effects on mood (and, for all the chemistry geeks out there, have one amine group). One of the functions of serotonin is to regulate levels of noradrenaline (with is linked to alertness, energy and anxiety) and dopamine (associated with attention and motivation); if these levels are not adequately balanced, it may result in erratic brain functioning and thinking patterns. It is therefore thought that low levels of monoamines results in depression.

Many drug treatments for depression work by increasing levels of these neurotransmitters (namely serotonin), either by preventing reuptake or breakdown by enzymes (like monoamine oxidase).

The diathesis-stress model suggests that a biological explanation may link to a environmental trigger, such as a stressful life event, ie. people that have a genetic predisposition or environmental vulnerability for developing depression will only develop the disorder if triggered by a stressful life event.

The use of drug treatment supports this hypothesis, as anti-depressant drugs work by increasing monoamine levels, helping to cure depression. Also, the effects and roles of the different monoamines can be linked to symptoms of depression; dopamine is associated with attention and motivation, so symptoms like lack of concentration and motivation can be linked to low levels of dopamine.

However, certain drugs are effective at treating depression but do not alter monoamine levels, suggesting an alternative cause. Other experiments involving deliberate monoamine depletion have not produced symptoms of depression, suggesting a correlation between depression and levels of monoamines, rather than causation. MRI scans have revealed that there are some physical differences in the brains of those with depression when compared to those without, specifically hippocampus size; it may be possible that serotonin boosting drugs actually combat depression by increasing the hippocampus, rather than just by increasing monoamine levels. Finally, a different biological explanation for depression links the nervous system to stress levels leading to increased cortisol levels, going against the monoamine hypothesis.

#psychology #A2 psychology #clinical psychology #biological approach

Is There a Cultural Bias In Psychology?

Ethnocentrism is the act of only being able to see things from the perspective of your own culture; it is an important issue in psychology, as behaviour can vary wildly across different cultures. One major problem that has arisen from this regards the diagnosis of mental health disorders - the DSM was written in America, from the perspective of American doctors talking about what is seen as abnormal and socially acceptable in their culture. However, this may be completely different in African or Asian countries, potentially leading to misdiagnosis. For example, some cultures interpret auditory hallucinations as a special, spiritual gift, whereas in America, that would be interpreted as a symptom of schizophrenia. Lock (1993) found that Maoris are twice or thrice as likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital as white New Zealanders. However, some studies have shown the DSM to work across different cultures; Lee (2006) found that the DSM is valid for diagnosing ADHD in Korea.

Cross-cultural research is used to establish whether something is due to nature or nurture by comparing different cultures, for example, Ainsworth studied mothering styles in both America and Uganda. A weakness of cross-cultural research is that is that behaviour and results from different cultures may be misinterpreted as the person observing them may not be used to that culture; Ainsworth developed ideas that a “secure” attachment was best, whereas an “anxious avoidant” attachment was bad, basing these ideas on her own American upbringing). Brislin (1993) conducted cross-cultural research into thinking types across African and American cultures, finding that in the West, quick thinking is considered to show high intelligence, however in Uganda, intelligence is more associated with slow and deliberate thought. Other cross-cultural studies have revealed information about the prevalence of mental health disorders - Lin (1996) found that the prevalence of schizophrenia is similar across cultures – and fathering styles – Fouts (2008) found that fathers’ involvement with young children varies across cultures.

Ethnographic research is a type of cross-cultural research in which the researcher spends time living in the country in which they wish to conduct their research before beginning the study. This allows them to adjust to the new culture so that when they begin the study, they are recording and observing behaviour in a way that best represents that particular culture. For example, more German children exhibit an anxious-avoidant attachment type, as their parents put more emphasis on independence at a younger age. An American psychologist studying this might view this as a bad thing and think that German parents were not in tune with their children’s needs, because in America, most children have a secure attachment. If the psychologist had spent time in Germany prior to beginning their study, they would have a much better idea about parenting styles in Germany. Unfortunately, ethnographic research is difficult to carry out as it is time consuming and expensive - a researcher could spend six months adapting to a culture that they only wish to study for a few weeks.

#psychology #A2 psychology #cultural bias #issues and debates

Twin & Adoption Studies

Twin studies are a research method used in the biological approach used to see if behaviour is a result of genes or environment. Concordance rates are used to determine the likelihood of one twin sharing the characteristics of the other twin, eg. if one twin develops schizophrenia, what is the likelihood of the other twin also developing it? DZ (dizygotic, fraternal) and MZ (monozygotic, identical) twins are used to compare concordance rates, as MZ twins share 100% of their DNA with each other, whereas DZ twins only share 50%, therefore if the concordance rate is higher for MZ twins, then the trait must have some kind of genetic basis. However, most twins also share an environment, meaning the behaviour could also have an environmental cause, so twins reared apart are ideally best for these studies.

Adoption studies also examine behaviour in order to find an environmental or genetic cause. Children adopted shortly after birth share no genes with their adoptive parents but share an environment, whilst the child shares 50% of their genes with each of their biological parents but do not share an environment. For example, if a child has an abnormally high IQ and so do his biological parents, however neither adoptive parent has a high IQ, then it could be determined that the high IQ is the result of a gene.

Problems with twin and adoption studies are that even twins separated at birth, or adopted children share a pre-natal environment with their biological mother (and twin) which could affect the child’s development, eg. if the mother follows a particular environment or takes drugs. The number of twins reared apart is also very low, meaning that the findings of studies cannot be generalised. They also are likely to experience a similar upbringing, meaning that shared traits could be a result of similar environments as children. Finally, participants for these studies are recruited through adverts which creates a bias, as only certain types of people may respond to these adverts.

A good example of a twin study is Gottesman & Shields (1966) which uses sets of twins to investigate the genetic basis of schizophrenia.

#psychology #AS psychology #biological approach #twin studies #adoption studies

Gottesman & Shields (1966): AS Recap

Relevant to both the biological approach and clinical psychology, this study uses secondary data to examine the effect of genetics on developing schizophrenia.

Aim: to investigate the strength of the link between genetics and schizophrenia.

Procedure: researches gathered secondary data from a hospital in the USA about those who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia; initially, data was collected about 392 patients but after further checks to make sure patients fit their criteria, 62 patients were chosen and used in the study. Of the 62 cases, five were cases of MZ twins who had both received a diagnosis of schizophrenia and the remaining 57 were pairs where only one twin had schizophrenia - in these cases, researches then contacted the other twin. Of the 62 diagnosed twins, there were 31 males and 31 females, with ages ranging between 19 - 64. They used a variety of research methods to gain information about the sets of twins - hospital notes, case histories, recorded interviews and other testing - as well as blood and visual tests to determine whether the twins were MZ or DZ.

Results: it was found that in MZ twins, the concordance rate for schizophrenia was 42%, compared to a much lower 9% in DZ twins.

Conclusion: it was concluded that there must be some genetic basis for developing schizophrenia, however because many of the twins had also shared the same/similar environments for the majority of their lives, it could be argued that the high concordance rates could also partly be due to environmental factors.

Evaluation: we can evaluate this study using GRAVE; the sample size was fairly large and used a variety of ages and both genders, so it could be argued that the findings are generalisable, however seeing as the data was collected from only one hospital in the USA, it may not be generalisable to other locations and cultures. A standardised procedure was used for each set of twins, increasing replicability and the findings of these study can be used in helping determine the cause of schizophrenia. All the data used was taken from real-life cases, giving the findings high ecological validity and there are no major ethical concerns. The findings are also supported by a Japanese study, Inouye (1961) which also showed high concordance rates for schizophrenia in twins. Great detail was also taken during the study in determining each twins' diagnosis, whether schizophrenia or another related psychosis. However, it was suggested that there may be different types of schizophrenia and the study could not determine whether these different types were a result of environment and genetics.

#psychology #AS psychology #A2 psychology #biological approach #clinical psychology

How Does Society Benefit from Psychology? - Biological Approach

The biological approach has helped us understand that a possible explanation for autism is that the condition is due to extreme male bran; male brains grow more quickly than females, yet autistic brains grow even quicker, and males develop language slower than females, whilst autistic brains develop language even slower than that. Twin studies have also shown that concordance rates for autism are 60-90% for monozygotic twins but only 5% for dizygotic twins. These explanations have been tested scientifically using reliable and objective research methods (eg. brain scans and genetic studies). It offers an explanation which can lead to treatment, so is applicable, however it is reductionist, so does not take the influence of other factors into account (eg. social factors, cognition or the theory of mind).

The biological approach has also enabled us to develop drug treatment for those with mental health disorders based on the monoamine hypothesis. Drug treatment for unipolar depression works by keeping neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine (which help to control factors like our mood, appetite, energy and motivation) in the body longer, usually by preventing reuptake or inhibiting the enzyme that breaks them down, as the monoamine hypothesis states that low levels of these neurotransmitters is what causes depression. However, there is some debate over this, and theories such as Beck's Cognitive Model of Depression offer alternative theories as to how depression develops and are supported by their own treatments (like CBT). The monoamine hypothesis is supported by the fact that drugs do work in the majority of depression cases, but although drugs increase monoamine levels soon after taking them, it usually takes a while for symptoms of depression to improve.

#psychology #A2 psychology #biological approach #mental health #issues and debates

Pictured above (and adorned with a flower crown) is Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939), an Austrian neurologist whose radical ideas about gender development are a) crazy and b) definitely in your psychology textbook. As you begin to learn about his work and ideas, you will undoubtedly question them and begin to wonder what on Earth inspired him. Whilst it's true that many of his ideas are based on little scientific knowledge, many psychologists have used them as a basis to develop their own theories and ideas and his own theories are still widely discussed and debated today. Since his ideas are so prominent in the psychodyamic approach of my course, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to write a little about his background and how he developed his ideas.

Freud lived in Vienna and trained as a doctor, and shocked at the lack of knowledge about mental health disorders, he developed a theory focused on providing treatment for those affected. He believed that energy is an instinct, a need for hunger, thirst, warmth and sex drive. Since most people in his Viennese society were not hungry, thirsty or cold, most of this energy came in the form of a sex drive. He believed that this energy could be trapped in different developmental stages throughout childhood, each focused on different erogenous zones, and that if too much or too little indulgence was given at any stage, too much energy would be used up in dealing with this, creating a fixation and determining certain traits that would be present in adulthood, as well as the potential for a mental health disorder to develop in later life. Freud believed that by listening to patients and analysing what they said, he could tap into their unconscious mind and identify any past traumas or fixations in order to deal with the mental health problems they were now facing. This type of treatment - now known as psychoanalysis - is still widely used today.

#psychology #AS psychology #psychodynamic approach #freudian psychology

Freud's Theory of Personality

Freudsuggested that there are three aspects of personality, the id, ego and superego which develop through the first five years of childhood.

The id is the first element to develop - in the first five years of childhood. The id focuses on the pleasure principle, much like a baby will cry until it gets what it wants. The id forms the unconscious mind and can only be accessed through interpretation of dreams.

The ego then develops, forming the conscious part of the mind. It focuses on the reality principle and the rational part of the personality.

The final part to develop is the superego, which makes up the morality principle and develops in the final five years of childhood. The ego must now satisfy both the id and the superego, which act as the extremes of personality.

In order for an adult to have a balanced personality, the ego should be able to successfully manage the demands of both the id and the ego. If this balance is not achieved, the adult may develop problems or neurosis.

Whilst developing his ideas, Freud assumed that the mind consisted of three parts: the conscious (which contains all that we know), the preconscious (which we don't directly know about, but can access through memories) and the unconscious mind (which we cannot access). He claimed that the unconscious mind was the largest part of the mind and is filled with our deepest thoughts and desires as well as material from our everyday experiences. Defence mechanisms are used widely in order to prevent these thoughts becoming conscious.

#psychology #AS psychology #psychodynamic approach #freudian psychology

Defence Mechanisms

According to Freud, defence mechanisms are ways of protecting the ego when there is conflict between the superego and id. However, the overuse of the following defence mechanisms can also cause individuals to lose touch with reality, for example if denial is overused, the person may become confused as to what is and isn't real.

repression refers to not remembering something because it cannot be accessed, needing to remain in the unconscious to protect the personality, eg. an adult may repress memories of childhood abuse to stop them from developing relationship problems or mental health problems

displacement is when unacceptable thoughts or wishes are put onto something or someone other than their real focus, eg. children marrying people that are similar to their opposite sex parent after the Oedipus complex has been resolved

denial refers to refusing to acknowledge threatening thoughts altogether, eg. an alcoholic denying their addiction because they do not want to accept that they have a problem

projection refers to when threatening thoughts of your own are said to belong to another person, eg. if someone was jealous, they may say their friend was jealous instead

regression is when you revert back to a childlike state in order to cope or block something out, eg. an adult may cry or scream if they feel scared.

#psychology #AS psychology #psychodynamic approach #freudian psychology

What is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a mental health disorder that causes disturbances in thoughts, emotions and behaviour and can cause people can lose touch with reality; it currently affects 1% of the population. Like most mental health problems, there is no physical diagnosis - like a blood test that can definitely tell you if you have the disorder or not - so diagnoses are made using diagnostic systems like the DSM or the ICD.

Schizophrenia has both positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms refer to an abnormal behaviour or experience being added to a person's functioning, like hallucinations or delusions; symptoms like this that cause an individual to lose touch with reality can be known as psychotic, or causing psychosis. Negative symptoms refer to normal behaviours that have been removed from a person's functioning, like social withdrawal and lack of motivation; these symptoms could be described as neurotic, or causing neurosis, where a person is still in touch with reality but whose behaviour is outside of normal functioning.

Within the diagnosis of schizophrenia, there are five different sub types that can affect people, each with their own specific symptoms.

paranoid schizophrenia is the most common sub type and is characterised by frequent auditory hallucinations, delusions and beliefs that the individual is in danger in some way, causing paranoia

disorganised schizophrenia is characterised by disorganised thought and behaviour patterns, which can affect an individual's speech and language ability and make them act irrationally; flat effect may also be observed

catatonic schizophrenia may affect an individual's mobility, either reducing their movement so they cannot move or react to their surroundings or increasing their movement so they often move around aimlessly; they may also move around strangely, mimicking sounds (echolalia) or movements made around them (echopraxia)

residual schizophrenia refers to when an individual has a history of schizophrenic symptoms and whilst they are still present, they are no longer as prominent or intense as they once were

undifferentiated schizophrenia is diagnosed when an individual has symptoms of schizophrenia but cannot be properly classified into another sub type

#psychology #A2 psychology #clinical psychology #mental health #schizophrenia

How Does Society Benefit from Psychology? - Psychodynamic Approach

The psychodynamic approach has highlighted the significance of the meaning of dreams, with the manifest content (what we can remember from the dream) being able to reveal our unconscious wishes and desires (latent content). Freud proposed that identifying these unconscious thoughts could help with resolving psychological problems or mental disorders. It also offers an alternative explanation to the biological approach, which states that dreams are just a side product of the brain trying to make sense of random thoughts we have during sleep. The psychodynamic theory can be used to explain why we have recurring dreams, however, unlike the biological theory and the explanation is based on a lot of in-depth analysis of lots of qualitative data, however the theory cannot be scientifically tested, whereas the biological dream theory can be supported by sleep studies, brain scans and EEG's.

This strange approach has also been used to create another treatment for mental disorders: psychoanalysis, a type of talk analysis of which dream analysis plays a huge part. When someone thinks about having therapy, the image of a client lying on a sofa with the psychologist sat behind them is what tends to come to mind and this is how psychoanalysis works, with the psychologist out of the client's eyeline so they are free to focus on their own thoughts. However, psychoanalysis is very unlike CBT in that it usually takes place over a long time period (so the psychologist and client can establish a trusting relationship) and that the client must focus on past events and memories (ie. repressed past thoughts) rather than the way they think now. By reflecting on past events, the psychologist can identify any conflict between the id and the superego and any repressed memories, freeing the client from any depression or anxiety they may be experiencing.

Freud's dream theory appears to be a good way to uncover unconscious thoughts and desires, however it's scientific merit is constantly questioned, however psychoanalysis has been used to develop other talk therapies like CBT, which are supported by their own studies. Freud used case studies as evidence, however these individual studies are not generalisable as they are each unique. The studies (and psychoanalysis in general) is subjective, meaning that psychologists can choose how to interpret dreams, as found by Storr (1987).

#psychology #A2 psychology #psychodynamic approach #applications #issues and debates

How Does Society Benefit from Psychology? - Cognitive Approach

The cognitive approach has enabled us to understand potential problems with the reliability of eye-witness testimony. Loftus & Palmer (1974) highlighted how leading questions can influence testimonies, helping to eliminate their use in police interviews. Cue-dependency theory states that recall will be more accurate when either state or context cues are present, meaning that if testimonies are recorded at the crime scene, the accuracy will be improved. Experiments looking at weapon focus have also showed that when a weapon is using during a crime, eye-witness testimonies may lack reliability, as a witness is more likely to focus their attention on the weapon rather than finer details of the crime.

Studies conducted into eye-witness testimony are mostly lab studies, reducing ecological validity, as witnesses may act differently in a real crime due to stress levels and other variables, however, natural studies, like Yuille & Cutshall (1986) lack controls. The findings of these studies have been widely applied in both the police force and the legal system, leading to changes in both.

Cognitive psychology has also been used in the development of another treatment for mental health disorders, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which is based on Beck's cognitive model of depression and aims to correct faulty negative thoughts and disable a negative schema. Kuyken et al (2008) showed that CBT is more effective at preventing relapse when compared to those taking anti-depressant drugs. However, most of the therapy (and, in fact, the studies conducted into it) relies on self-report data which may lack reliability.

#psychology #A2 psychology #cognitive psychology #applications #issues and debates

How Does Society Benefit from Psychology? - Social Apprach

As part of the final unit for A2 psychology, we must look back over what we have learnt over the course and examine how the findings of psychological studies and theories can be applied and contributed to society. After all, Milgram didn't make people think they'd murdered a man for nothing, Rosenhan and his colleagues didn't pose as schizophrenics for fun and Freud... well, Freud was a bit weird, so perhaps we should leave him out of this.

First up is social psychology which has helped explain blind obedience, ie. why we will often follow orders from an authority figure even if they go against our moral compass. Agency Theory was developed by Milgram; when we obey, we act in an agentic state - sometimes experiencing moral strain when we follow orders that go against our conscience - whereas when we act of our own free will, we act in the autonomous state. This theory is supported by Milgram (1963) and Hofling (1966) and helps to explain real-life situations, like why soldiers did such terrible things under Hitler's influence in WWII. However, it does not explain why occasionally, people disobey authority figures.

Social psychology has also helped us develop assertive community therapy (ACT) a treatment for those with schizophrenia who suffer with frequent relapses and hospitalization. Developed in the USA, it is based on the idea of care in the community and aims to establish independence and help provide rehabilitation and recovery for those recently discharged from psychiatric hospitals to prevent re-admission. Bond et al (2001) looked at many controlled studies that examined ACT and concluded that it has a high success rate, supported by his later study (2002) which found that ACT is incredibly effective at treating most mental health disorders, regardless of age, gender and culture, whilst Gomory (2001) says ACT clients often feel their freedom is decreased.

#psychology #A2 psychology #social psychology #applications #issues and debates

reparrishcomics

#psychology #AS psychology #freud #psychodynamic approach

Diagnosing mental disorders can be difficult, as different patients will report different symptoms to different extents; for example, one patient with schizophrenia may experience frequent hallucinations whereas they might be much rarer in another patient. On top of this, many disorders will have shared symptoms; for example, the symptoms of depression (eg. social withdrawal, flatness of emotion) are also common negative symptoms of schizophrenia. This is why it may take a while for a mental disorder to be properly recognised and diagnosed.

In order to help medical professionals diagnose mental disorders, several diagnostic systems have been created which contained detailed lists of symptoms for each recognised mental health disorder. The DSM, or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was created by the American Psychiatric Society, whereas the ICD, or the International Classification of Diseases was compiled by the World Health Organisation and is not limited to mental health disorders. These are two of the most common diagnostic systems and will be mentioned widely on this blog and in many psychology textbooks. These books have been the subject of many experiments into the reliability and validity of diagnosing mental disorders, meaning that both have been rewritten and revised many times, with the DSM currently on its fifth edition (DSM-V) and the ICD on its tenth (ICD-10).

#psychology #A2 psychology #clinical psychology #diagnosis

Reliability & Validity in Diagnosis

When evaluating studies, we will often talk about the reliability and validity of it: whether or not the study can be replicated to produce similar results, and whether or not we can easily establish cause and effect. When diagnosing mental health disorders, reliability and validity are also used to see if the correct diagnosis has been made.

In terms of diagnosis, reliability refers to consistency. A diagnostic system (like the DSM or ICD) can be considered reliable if psychologists all agree on the same diagnosis for the same patient, known as inter-rater reliability. Another way of testing reliability is for a patient to be diagnosed repeatedly, and to see if the same diagnosis is made each time, known as test-retest reliability.

Nicholls (2000) investigated the reliability of three different diagnostic systems by getting multiple doctors to diagnose a child with an eating disorder using the same system. She found that doctors using the ICD-10 agreed on diagnoses 34% of the time, those using the DSM-IV agreed 64% of the time (although many doctors diagnosing with the DSM struggled to reach a diagnosis at all) and finally, those using a diagnostic system developed by Great Ormond Street Hospital agreed 88% of the time.

Pontizovsky (2006) used the ICD-10 to diagnose people both on admission and discharge from a psychiatric hospital, a system that reached the same diagnosis 94.2% of the time for those with depression, and 83.8% of the time for those with schizophrenia.

#psychology #A2 psychology #reliability #validity #clinical psychology

Rosenhan (1973)

Aims: to test diagnostic validity by investigating whether psychiatrists were able to distinguish between people who are mentally ill and people who are not, and to see whether it was the characteristics of the patient (ie. symptoms and behaviour) or the context (ie. the psychiatric hospital) that would have a greater influence on the diagnosis of mental illness.

Procedure: eight pseudopatients (including Rosenhan himself) faked a single symptom of schizophrenia, saying that they could hear voices saying words such as “thud”, “hollow” and “empty”. They gave fake names and occupations to staff and once admitted to psychiatric hospitals, behaved normally and reported no further symptoms. They kept notes on their time in the hospitals, initially secretly but then openly, with four of the pseudopatients observing patient-staff interactions.

Results: of the eight pseudopatients (admitted to twelve different hospitals across five US states) seven were diagnosed with schizophrenia and one with manic depression. The average length of stay was 19 days and at discharge, the pseudopatients were given diagnoses of schizophrenia in remission. It was also found that staff tended to ignore patient requests, invaded privacy and dehumanised patients; none of the staff believed any of the pseudopatients were sane, although patients were suspicious, with 35 out of 118 patients at the first three hospitals realising the pseudopatients were not mentally ill. Normal behaviour, such as note taking, was interpreted as “excessive note-taking” in the context of their diagnosis. In a second part of the study, Rosenhan informed hospitals he would be sending more pseudopatients and hospitals began to point potential fake patients out, however no more pseudopatients were sent.

#psychology #A2 psychology #clinical psychology #ethics

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