Indeed, many readers may see a similar pattern in their own experiences, with no markedly deleterious consequences. Observe, however, how such a history was translated in the psychopathological context . Rosenhan then goes on to quote from the case summary prepared by the therapist in chargeofthe pseudopatient's case. A warm relationship with his mother cools during his adolescence. A distant relationship to his father is described as becoming very intense.
Affective stability is absent.
His attempts to control emotional ity with his wife and children are punctuated by angry outbursts and, in the case of the children, spankings. And while he says that he has several good friends, one senses considerable ambivalence embedded in those relationships also . As can be seen, the very source of distorted perception for the expert is the specialized background of experience that is brought to the problem. This is readily apparent in the above example from Rosenhan. On the one hand, specialized training prepares the expert to be sensitive to cues and indicators that the average person would miss or not recognize as significant.