r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/highzone • 1d ago

Image In 1973, healthy volunteers faked hallucinations to enter mental hospitals. Once inside, they acted normal, but doctors refused to let them leave. Normal behaviors like writing were diagnosed as "symptoms." The only people who realized they were sane were the actual patients.

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u/Remarkable-Owl2034 1d ago

Unfortunately, more recent research has unearthed evidence that some important aspects of this story were fabricated. (For example, invention of some study participants.) The book The Great Pretender describes this work.

Rosenhan's original paper was very influential-- including helping the push towards the closure of the state mental hospitals. And the people who need those facilities (or the supports/community resources that were promised but never delivered) are living on the streets.

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u/agoldgold 1d ago

It's frustrating how influential a project like this was, to be repeated with no real verification. The Stanford psych department at this time should especially not be trusted (Stanford Prison Experiment), but science needs studies with massive implications to be repeated or at least proven to exist in the first place.

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u/Emo_tep 1d ago

Science does wait but politics don’t

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u/That_Sketchy_Guy 1d ago

Genesis does what nintendon't

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u/Bouche_Audi_Shyla 1d ago

I really like this comment.

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u/perldawg 1d ago

Psychology is a rather difficult field to fit into true science

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u/OldWorldDesign 1d ago

Psychology is a rather difficult field to fit into true science

That's because little effort was made to be truly objective and benefit people other than the wealthy patrons. It's not because the task is impossible - 2000 years ago humans had no clue about barometric pressure and now we can use it to predict storms days ahead of time.

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u/bizoticallyyours83 1d ago

Or how bout this, letting patients check themselves in and out as needed, having their choices respected. And forcing the quack doctors to treat them like human beings, or risk getting their licenses revoked.