ON BEING SANE IN INSANE PLACES

In this dated but intriguing article, D.L. Rosenhan, professor of
psychology at Stanford University, poses a very interesting question, one
that is still relevant in today's world-"If sanity and insanity exist, how
shall we know them?" (1973, 250), meaning that under certain conditions, it
may be impossible to recognize the differences between the two. This is
supported by Rosenhan's comment that "What is viewed as normal (i.e., sane)
in one culture may be seen as quite aberrant in another" (i.e, insane).
From a medical perspective, Rosenhan states that determining whether
someone or something (i.e, an action) is either sane or insane is "a simple
matter" by posing the question "do the salient characteristics that lead to
diagnosis reside in the patients. . . or in the environments and contexts
in which observers find themselves"? (1973, 251).
In order to explore the main question on recognizing sanity and
insanity, Rosenhan describes an experiment in which eight "pseudopatients"
or those of normal sanity, posed as mentally-ill patients and once admitted
to a psychiatric hospital, acted totally normal or unsane. The results were
that these patients "were never detected" by the psychiatrists as faking
insanity. The overall diagnosis was "schizophrenia in remission" which
indicates that "any diagnostic process" on the part of psychiatrists to
determine sanity or insanity "lends itself so readily to massive errors
that this. . . cannot be a very reliable" process (1973, 252).
Rosenhan then points out that so-called "labeling" by psychiatrists
is quite unreliable and that the experiences within psychiatric
hospitalization needs to be revised and updated to reflect the true nature
of those patients labeled as sane or insane. Rosenhan concludes by
declaring that it is nearly impossible to distinguish "the sane from the
insane in psychiatric hospitals" and that the consequences of such a
failure "are undoubtedly counter-therapeutic" (1973, 257).
REFERENCES
Rosenhan, D.L. (19 January, 1973). "On Being Sane in Insane Places."
Science. Vol. 179.
250-258.