Psychology ETDs

Publication Date

5-1977

Abstract

It has long been recognized that social factors influence clinical judgment, Szasz (1961) found the phenomenon so prevalent that he even proposed that mental "illness" is a myth, Tracing historical antecedents, he attributed the medical interpretation of abnormal behavior to the action of Charcot in the 19th century whose efforts contributed greatly to the legitimization of hysteria as a sickness in the medical sense. As an alternative, Szasz proposed that clinical judgments are products of social, historical and ethical factors affecting the motivation of clinicians, as opposed to their commonly claimed scientifically acquired standards applied to observed behavior.

Degree Name

Psychology

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Psychology

First Committee Member (Chair)

Ralph Norman

Second Committee Member

Sidney Rosenblum

Third Committee Member

Harold Delaney

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

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