The Great Pretender
The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness
Hardcover, 382 pages
In 1973, psychologist and Stanford University professor David Rosenhan published a journal article that shook the world of psychiatry to its core.
“On Being Sane in Insane Places” was the result of a study in which eight people without mental illness got themselves admitted to psychiatric institutions — Rosenhan wanted to see whether mental health professionals could actually distinguish between psychologically well people and those with mental illnesses.