Rosenhan experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – Mozilla Firefox. Experiment to determine the validity of psychiatric diagnosis As a critique of psychiatric diagnosis, it broached the topic of wrongful involuntary commitment.[3] The experiment is said to have "accelerated the movement to reform mental institutions and to deinstitutionalize as many mental patients as possible".[4] Rosenhan claimed that he, along with eight other people (five men and three women), entered 12 hospitals in five states on both coasts of the US. Three of the participants were admitted for only a brief period of time, and in order to obtain sufficient documented experiences, they re-applied to additional institutions.
Respondents defended psychiatry against the experiment's conclusions, saying that as psychiatric diagnosis relies largely on the patient's report of their experiences, faking their presence no more demonstrates problems with psychiatric diagnosis than lying about other medical symptoms.[5] Pseudopatient experiment [edit] While listening to a lecture by Ronald D. 10 Even Weirder Psychology Studies — PsyBlog – Mozilla Firefox. Does smelling granny relieve depressive mood? The answer to that and more questions you never asked… A few years ago I wrote an article on weird psychology studies.
It included studies on tickling, superstitious pigeons, a psychic dog and self-conscious urinators. It seems I hardly even scratched the surface. Here are 10 even weirder psychology studies that have mostly been published in academic journals, some more reputable than others… 1. Cerebral activation during micturation in normal men Nour et al. (2000) had people urinating in a PET scanner. “We conclude from this study [...] that the onset and maintenance of micturation in normal men is associated with a vast network of cortical and subcortical regions, confirming observations from clinical and animal studies” …and also that their PET scanner now has a funny smell. 2.
You’re going to think I’ve just made this one up, but I haven’t. So what happens when you clip your nasal hair? 3. Chapell et al. (1999) tell us: 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Brainstorming Reloaded — PsyBlog – Mozilla Firefox. · Why brainstorming is ineffective and how to fix it. Brainstorming was once thought a fantastic way for groups to generate new ideas. Although not as fashionable as it once was, brainstorming is still frequently used in business and, often inadvertently, for all sorts of personal decisions; people happily brainstorm for holiday destinations, restaurants and even new careers.
Brainstorming certainly looks like a great way of dealing with some of the problems associated with decision-making and creativity in groups, such as groupthink and people’s failure to share information effectively. By suspending evaluation, encouraging a relaxed atmosphere and quantity over quality, the brainstorming session is supposed to foster creativity. But now we know that brainstorming doesn’t actually work that well. So if groups need to generate new ideas, new connections between old ideas and new ways of seeing the world, how should they proceed? Brainstorming reloaded. Success! Why Expectations Beat Fantasies — PsyBlog – Mozilla Firefox. Are you building castles in the sky?
Psychologists have found that fantasising about future success can be dangerous. We all have fantasies about the future. It’s only natural to dream happy dreams about how things might go right. We often hear from self-help gurus that just this type of happy dreaming is a good source of motivation. Loosely speaking there is some truth to this: positive thinking about the future is broadly beneficial. Fantasy versus expectation The researchers wanted to see how people cope with four different challenges that life throws at us: getting a job, finding a partner, doing well in an exam and undergoing surgery (hopefully not all at the same time). Across four studies the researchers examined how people thought about each of these challenges.
The difference might sound relatively trivial, but it’s not. Fantasies, though, involve imagining something you hope will happen in the future, but experiencing it right now. Take those looking for a job. I expect. Halo Effect — PsyBlog – Mozilla Firefox. The idea that global evaluations about a person bleed over into judgements about their specific traits. The ‘halo effect’ is a classic finding in social psychology.
It is the idea that global evaluations about a person (e.g. she is likeable) bleed over into judgements about their specific traits (e.g. she is intelligent). Hollywood stars demonstrate the halo effect perfectly. Because they are often attractive and likeable we naturally assume they are also intelligent, friendly, display good judgement and so on. In the same way politicians use the ‘halo effect’ to their advantage by trying to appear warm and friendly, while saying little of any substance. But you would think we could pick up these sorts of mistaken judgements by simply introspecting and, in a manner of speaking, retrace our thought processes back to the original mistake.
Likeability of lecturers Nisbett and Wilson wanted to examine the way student participants made judgements about a lecturer (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977). Cognitive Dissonance — PsyBlog – Mozilla Firefox. Understanding this experiment sheds a brilliant light on the dark world of our inner motivations. The ground-breaking social psychological experiment of Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) provides a central insight into the stories we tell ourselves about why we think and behave the way we do. The experiment is filled with ingenious deception so the best way to understand it is to imagine you are taking part.
So sit back, relax and travel back. The time is 1959 and you are an undergraduate student at Stanford University… As part of your course you agree to take part in an experiment on ‘measures of performance’. You are told the experiment will take two hours. Little do you know, the experiment will actually become a classic in social psychology. The set-up Once in the lab you are told the experiment is about how your expectations affect the actual experience of a task. So you settle down to the first task you are given, and quickly realise it is extremely boring. Experimental slip-up.