In the 19th and early 20th centuries, medical professionals frequently diagnosed women with "female hysteria." Symptoms included anxiety, irritability, insomnia, fluid retention, and "a tendency to cause trouble for others." Treatments ranged from forced bed rest and sensory deprivation to pelvic stimulation administered by physicians, or long-term institutionalisation.
This disorder was deeply rooted in Victorian expectations of femininity and gender roles. When the American Psychiatric Association published its first official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I) in 1952, "hysterical neurosis" was still routinely classified as a mental illness.
With the publication of DSM-II in 1968, the definition was narrowed, and finally, in 1980 (with the publication of DSM-III), "hysteria" was completely abolished from the psychiatric manual, replaced by separate, narrower diagnoses such as conversion disorder and histrionic personality disorder.
This history demonstrates how subjective societal norms can shape psychiatric classification, impacting the social status and autonomy of an entire demographic group.
Outline what is meant by socially sensitive research and explain how this concept applies to the article above.
276 exam-style questions on OCR A Level Psychology Debates, covering Nature/nurture, Freewill/determinism, Reductionism/holism, Individual/situational explanations, Usefulness of research, Ethical considerations, Conducting socially sensitive research, and Psychology as a science. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.