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Core Studies



Some examples of Core Studies section A questions

 

Rosenhan.

 

1. In the study by Rosenhan, most of the pseudopatients were admitted to hospital with the incorrect diagnosis of “schizophrenia”.

 

Give two possible explanations why the hospital made these mistakes.

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2. From the Rosenhan study,

 

(a) Give one example of how staff interpreted the behaviour of the pseudopatients.

[2]

 

(b) How did the real patients interpret the behaviours of the pseudo-patients?

[2]

3. (a) In the study by Rosenhan, what was abnormal about the self-reports given by the pseudopatients on arrival at the hospital?

[2]

 

(b) What is the difference between the self-reports of the pseudopatients and the self-reports of people with schizophrenia?

[2]

4. From the study by Rosenhan on being sane in insane places, give two features of life on the ward that were recorded by the pseudopatients and, for each feature, briefly outline what they observed.

[4]

5. The study by Rosenhan on being sane in insane places describes how a hospital rated all admissions over a three-month period on whether they were pseudopatients.

 

(a) What were the results of this study?

[2]

 

(b) What conclusions can we draw about psychiatric diagnosis from this study?

[2]

6. (a) In the study by Rosenhan, what symptoms of the pseudopatients were regarded as abnormal?

[2]

 

(b) What is the difference between the abnormal symptoms of the pseudopatients and the symptoms of a person with a psychotic disturbance such as schizophrenia?

[2]

7. The study by Rosenhan (sane in insane places) broke a number of ethical guidelines.

 

(a) Outline one way in which the hospital staff were treated unethically.

[2]

 

(b) If the study had been ethical, suggest what effect this would have on the results.

[2]

8.

 

(a) In his study ‘On being sane in insane places’ what does Rosenhan mean when he writes about ‘the stickiness of psychodiagnostic labels’?

[2]

 

(b) Give one example of how the label ‘schizophrenia’ affected how hospital staff interpreted the pseudopatients’ behaviour.

[2]

9. (a) Give two examples of the powerlessness and depersonalisation experienced by the pseudopatients in Rosenhan’s study (sane in insane places)

[2]

 

(b) Outline one possible explanation for the behaviour of staff in this study

[2]

10. (a) From the Rosenhan study, 'Sane in Insane Places', give one example of how the pseudopatients' requests for information were dealt with by the staff.

[2]

 

(b) Identify the effects that this had on the pseudopatients.

[2]

11. From the Rosenhan study, 'On being sane in insane places', give one explanation why most of the pseudo patients were admitted to hospital with the incorrect diagnosis of 'schizophrenia'.

[2]

12. From the Rosenhan study, 'sane in insane places', give one example of how the hospital staff interpreted the behaviour of the pseudopatients.

[2]

13 Rosenhan, in his study 'on being sane in insane places', refers to Type 1 errors as calling a sick person healthy and Type 2 errors as calling a healthy person sick.

 

(a) Suggest why health professionals made Type 2 errors in their diagnosis of the pseudo patients in the first experiment.

[2]

 

(b) Describe how the health professionals made Type 1 errors in the second experiment by Rosenhan.

[2]

14 (a) From the Rosenhan study (sane in insane places) identify two ways in which the patients' privacy was invaded.

[2]

 

(b) Give one reason why privacy of psychiatric patients may be invaded

[2]

15. In the study 'Sane in insane places' Rosenhan refers to 'the stickiness of psychodiagnostic labels'.

 

(a) Explain how this was demonstrated in the study.

[2]

 

(b) Suggest how labelling might affect people with a mental illness in their everyday lives.

[2]

16. From the study by Rosenhan identify two features of hospital life that resulted in the pseudopatients experiencing negative feelings such as powerlessness and depersonalisation.

[2]

 

17. In Rosenhan’s study, ‘On being sane in Insane Places’, health professionals in the first experiment made a Type 2 error (a false positive) in their diagnosis of the pseudo patients.

 

(a) Describe the Type 2 error in this study.

[2]

 

(b) Why does Rosenhan argue that it is worse to make a Type 2 error when diagnosing mental illness than physical illness?

[2]