Rosenhan was not the first investigating life in mental institutions. In the late 1800s, the female journalist Nellie Bly faked mental illness and was admitted to a mental hospital (this is an example of a covert participant observation). She faked mental insanity (before she did she practiced making deranged expressions in front of the mirror) at a boarding house, was taken to court where she pretended to have amnesia, and was sentenced to spent 10 days in a mental asylum. Several doctors judged her to be insane. In the asylum she exposed the brutal treatment of patients (they were showered with cold water, beaten, and tied with ropes) and misdiagnosis (at the asylum there were foreigners who were sane but had been diagnosed with insanity simply because they could not speak English and also a completely sane woman who had been taken there because her husband believed her to be unfaithful.
If you are interested in learning more about Nellie Bly, here is a website about her: http://www.nellieblyonline.com/ And here is a link to her book about her experiences in a mental asylum: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html There are also other examples of faking insanity. A few years back a Swedish art student, Anna Odell, did an art project on insanity. She videotaped herself standing quietly by a bridge without saying anything. It looked like she was about to commit suicide, but many people passed by without doing anything (bystander effect) Finally someone called the police and she was forced into mental care (she had a hidden microphone to record what happened in the institution) Although she became quite famous in Sweden, she was fined in court, as I remember it. Here is a video showing part of her art video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUtF_gBt2Zg
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AuthorThis is my class blog for IB Psychology. Here I will publish reflections on psychology, reviews of psychology books, recommended links, lecture notes, and information on psychology topics that are not covered by the syllabus. You are free to add comments or ask me questions. Archives
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