Distillations | Science History Institute The Fraud that Transformed Psychiatry
Jul 23, 2024
Bill Underwood, a former psychology grad student who went undercover in Rosenhan's study, and Susanna Cahalan, investigative journalist and author, unpack the controversial 1973 study by David Rosenhan, a Stanford psychologist. They discuss how the fake-patient experiment was conducted, the missing and altered records Cahalan uncovered, and the study's sweeping impact on psychiatric diagnosis.
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Single Symptom Exposed Diagnostic Fragility
- Rosenhan used a single scripted symptom to gain admission and argued psychiatrists could not distinguish sane from insane.
- He reported nine people admitted across 19 hospitals and claimed most were diagnosed with schizophrenia despite normal behavior inside.
Rosenhan's Nine Day Admission Story
- David Rosenhan described being admitted after claiming voices saying "dull, empty, thud" and spent nine days diagnosed with schizophrenia.
- He reported noise, invisibility, and being ignored by staff while trying to behave normally inside the ward.
Bill Underwood's Pseudopatient Experience
- Bill Underwood, a Stanford grad student, posed as a patient using the same script and was admitted as "Dixon," enduring Thorazine and extreme drowsiness.
- He and others practiced tonguing pills to avoid side effects and found toilets full of flushed medication.
