Opening Skinner's Box Analysis

Through The Psychologist Eye In Lauren Slater’s book, “Opening Skinner’s Box,” we discover in the first three chapters the mysteries behind a few psychological experiments and the discoveries that three profound psychologists have made. Each chapter is about a different psychologist, the first is B.F. Skinner; a behaviorist who designed a process of learning in which behavior is controlled, he called this operant conditioning. Lauren Slater wanted people to know about his experiment, she read his books, talked to friends and family members to unearth the features behind this man. She found that he was a loving father, who could train animals to do unordinary things, like play the piano for an example, through the processes of operant conditioning,

David Rosenhan. A psychoanalyst, who wanted to know if psychiatrist were misdiagnosing patients, or were even able to distinguish the sane from insane. Psychiatrist, are supposed to be able to diagnose people with the correct medical terms, and treat them correctly. They are supposed to help patients. This is what Rosenhan wanted to discover, he called eight of his friends to see if they had a month to devote to his experiment. A month? How crazy, they would say. But by the end of their conversation, Rosenhan had them laughing and agreeing to be involved. Eight pseudo patients would fake their way into an asylum, but once inside they would act their normal sane self, and see if the psychiatrist would know the sane from insane. Rosenhan instructed them on what to say to their psychiatrist and how to avoid taking the pills once inside the asylum. They all would say that they were hearing a voice in their head that would say thud. On just that sentence alone they were sent to asylums and being diagnosed as schizophrenic or manic depressive. Rosenhan’s experience in the asylum, entailed that patients were not helped with their psychological disorders, let alone acknowledged at all. They were considered invisible. The nurses would turn their heads when patients would spit out their given medications. The psychiatrists wouldn’t even notice that Rosenhan was acting sane and should be sent home. Rosenhan had asked the psychiatrist when he would be able to go home and all he would say is when you are well. It took over a month for Rosenhan to be set free. He was randomly discharged one day, and discovered that psychiatry is psychiatrically