Rosenhan, David

David Rosenhan was a psychologist best known for his 1973 study, "On Being Sane in Insane Places." In this research, he and others feigned auditory hallucinations to gain admission to psychiatric hospitals, then behaved normally afterward. The study revealed significant issues in psychiatric diagnosis, demonstrating that mental health professionals often could not reliably distinguish between sane and insane individuals. Rosenhan's work highlighted concerns about the labeling of mental illness and the dehumanizing conditions within mental health institutions, prompting reforms and increased scrutiny of diagnostic practices in psychiatry.