Reference Information
Title: Opening Skinner's Box
Author: Lauren Slater
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company (2008)
Chapter 3: On Being Sane in Insane Places (30 pages)
Summary
Slater discussed David Rosenhan's experiment in which he and some friends went to various mental institutions just to see how the doctors diagnosed them. They said they heard a voice that said "thud". Once they were in the ward, they acted normal. Many of his normal behaviors were seen as those of a paranoid schizophrenic. Once revealed to the public, many were shocked. She later goes on to discuss the effects of this study and the many lingering questions still out there. She even tried to recreate the study. Although she did not get admitted to the institution, she was prescribed a lot of antipsychotics and antidepressants.
Discussion
Thrilling as always, this was again one of my favorite reads. I have read of a similar study like this, but I forgot the subjects. I think we get too obsessed with trying to categorize every behavior as normal or non-normal that people get lumped into these arbitrary groups.
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