Psychiatric Diagnosis

More on Pseudoscience in Science and the Case for Psychiatric Diagnosis

“…thought broadcasting, insertion, or withdrawal (as defined in this manual) 2. delusions of control, other bizarre delusions, or multiple delusions (as defined in this manual), of any duration as long as definitely present 3. delusions other than presecutory or jealousy, lasting at least one week 4. delusions of any type if accompanied by hallucinations of any type for at least one week 5. auditory hallucinations in which either a voice keeps up a running commentary on the patient's behavior or thoughts as they occur, or two or more voices converse with each other 6. nonaffective verbal hallucinations spoken to the subject (as defined in this manual) 7. hallucinations of any type throughout the day for several days or intermittently for at least one month 8. definite instances of formal thought disorder (as defined in this manual) B.…”

New revelations about Rosenhan’s pseudopatient study: Scientific integrity in remission.

“…2 Other than this one symptom, the pseudopatients were only to lie about their true identities. Rosenhan wanted to know if the pseudopatients would be admitted given this singular symptom and, second, what would happen if, after they 1 As pointed out by many critics of the Rosenhan study (e.g., Fleischman et al, 1973;Spitzer, 1975), the terms sane and insane are not psychiatric diagnostic terms but rather legal terms. As applied in the legal system, insane typically entails the inability to know right from wrong.…”

“…Rosenhan’s findings did not go unchallenged. There was a firestorm of responses, starting with a series of critical letters published in Science (Fleischman et al, 1973) and continuing with four detailed critiques in the October 1975 issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology (Crown, 1975; Millon, 1975; Spitzer, 1975; Weiner, 1975). In brief, these critics argued that Rosenhan used flawed methodology, ignored relevant data, and reached unsound conclusions, but the most telling criticism involved the “in remission” discharge diagnoses for the pseudopatients (Ruscio, 2004).…”

“…1As pointed out by many critics of the Rosenhan study (e.g., Fleischman et al, 1973; Spitzer, 1975), the terms sane and insane are not psychiatric diagnostic terms but rather legal terms. As applied in the legal system, insane typically entails the inability to know right from wrong.…”