abnormal studies

luhrmann

aim : how culture effects the experience of hearing voices.

procedure : 3 cultures (california, india and ghana), all partook in structured interviews regarding number, frequency, familiarity of the voice, content, distress and whether the voice was +ve or -ve, regarding schizophrenic patients.

findings : california had more -ve voices, causing violence that they did not recognise, it was seen as a ‘brain disease’

rosenhan

aim : 1, whether ‘sane people’ would be detected in mental institutions and 2, what it’s like to be seen as ‘insane’.

procedure : 1, 8 pseudo patients went to he GP with hearing voices that were described as ‘hollow’, ‘empty’, ‘thud’, all patients were admitted as schizophrenic, once they were in the hospital, they stopped showing symptoms. 2, the hospital was told at least one pseudo was in the hospital and they would determine who it was, no pseudo patients were admitted.

findings : 1, none of the pseudo patients were detected. 2, 41 patients were wrongly detected as pseudo.

lipton and simon

aim : determine the reliability of diagnosis.

procedure : 131 randomly selected (all with psychological disorders), 7 clinical experts reevaluated their original diagnosis and this was compared to the original. (all using DSM 3).

findings : only 10 schizophrenic were the same diagnosis and just 15 with mood disorders were the same

felitti et al

aim : the effects of ACEs on the onset of depression in adults.

procedure : questionnaire regarding ACEs (such as domestic violence, suicidal caregivers, substance abuse, sexual abuse) was sent out after a standardised medical evaluation (from the kaiser medical evaluation).

findings : increased risk of health issues with more ACEs, having 4 or more ACEs can make you 12x more susceptible to health risks.

gove and fain

aim : how diagnosis effects self perception and reintegration into society.

procedure : 429 former patients on mental illness, all in depth interviews regarding the experiences of their diagnosis and treatment, and how their labels affected self perception, interactions and reintegration into society.

findings : mixed views among patients, although their is a shift in identity, it can result in social stigma.

temerlin

aim : the effects of confirmation bias on diagnosis.

procedure : watched an interview of a health individual, participants were asked to diagnose the individual from a list of 30 diagnoses. 10x psychotic, 10x neurotic and 10x misc (including ‘healthy’). one group heard a psychologist say ‘looked neurotic but was actually quite psychotic’, the other group heard nothing.

findings : 60% of the group who heard the phrase diagnosed a psychotic disorder, while no one did in the opposing condition.

friedlander and stockman

aim : determine the role of anchoring bias in diagnosis.

procedure : 46 clinicians and 2 different patients (joanne = severe depression and suicidal, gina = less severe but anorexic behaviours), read 5 consecutive interviews, the info revealing time varied across conditions (either the 1st or the 4th - both groups had one patient interview at 1st or 4th).

findings : 1st interview = decreased level of functionality in patient diagnosis and less proper prognosis (accurate diagnosis).

langer and abelson

aim : how labels influence perceptions of mental illness.

procedure : videotaped interview of a neutral client (showing now indications of a disorder), one group was told they were a ‘job applicant’ while the other group was told they were a ‘patient’. the participants were asked to evaluate the interviewee on personality traits and general adjustments.

findings : ‘job applicant’ = +ve representation and capable, ‘patient’ = -ve representation, disturbed and dependent.