Article Summary: On Being Sane In Insane Places

by David L. Rosenhan

Article Summary: On Being Sane In Insane Places

by David L. Rosenhan

"On Being Sane in Insane Places" is an article by David L. Rosenhan that was published in the journal Science in 1973 and describes an experiment in which eight healthy "pseudopatients" were admitted to twelve psychiatric inpatient units in five states by feigning psychotic auditory hallucinations - hearing unfamiliar voices of the same sex saying "empty", "hollow" and "thud" (www.music.us). The study concluded "It is clear that we cannot distinguish the sane from the insane in psychiatric hospitals" and ...