Chapter 3 – On Being Sane in Insane Places
Summary
Slater explains an experiment by Rosenhan where he and 8 of his friends attempted admission into mental institutions. He wanted to test if completely sane people could be improperly diagnosed as insane. It worked, but his studies came under fire. So, Slater tried this in the more modern age 8 times. She was not admitted, but was improperly diagnosed. However, she found the state of these facilities today to be far more welcoming and friendly than when Rosenhan performed his experiment.
Summary
Slater explains an experiment by Rosenhan where he and 8 of his friends attempted admission into mental institutions. He wanted to test if completely sane people could be improperly diagnosed as insane. It worked, but his studies came under fire. So, Slater tried this in the more modern age 8 times. She was not admitted, but was improperly diagnosed. However, she found the state of these facilities today to be far more welcoming and friendly than when Rosenhan performed his experiment.
Discussion
These experiments were fun to read about, and I think they raise some good points. Even if psychiatry is not as fine a science as other fields, however, it’s still important. But I don’t think Slater’s point was to further discredit psychiatry. She showed that its current state is much improved from Rosenhan’s time, and that the people in it are not malevolent. They care very much for helping people, and are simply doing the best they can with the knowledge of the mind that the field has right now.
These experiments were fun to read about, and I think they raise some good points. Even if psychiatry is not as fine a science as other fields, however, it’s still important. But I don’t think Slater’s point was to further discredit psychiatry. She showed that its current state is much improved from Rosenhan’s time, and that the people in it are not malevolent. They care very much for helping people, and are simply doing the best they can with the knowledge of the mind that the field has right now.
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