Environmental psychology in a contemporary mental hospital: Total institutions revisited.
Item
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Title
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Environmental psychology in a contemporary mental hospital: Total institutions revisited.
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Identifier
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AAI9830688
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identifier
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9830688
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Creator
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Burton, William B.
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Contributor
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Advisers: Joseph Glick | David Chapin
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Date
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1998
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Industrial | Health Sciences, Mental Health
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Abstract
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Although 100s of studies published in the 1960s and 1970s (many of which were conducted by environmental psychologists) addressed the relationship between the physical environment of mental hospitals and the behavior and experience of patients, this research seems to have had no lasting impact on contemporary psychiatry. One possible explanation is that mental hospital staff are currently unaware of this body of research. An intervention that sought to introduce environmental psychology directly to the staff of a contemporary mental hospital was timed to coincide with the move of the hospital to a new physical setting.;The central component of the intervention was the long-term presence in the hospital of an environmental psychologist, whose responsibilities included presenting the staff with pertinent research findings, serving as a role model (in terms of how the staff should think about and deal with environmental issues), and attempting to involve the staff in projects to modify the hospital environment.;Two research questions were posed. First, what are the consequences of introducing the staff of a contemporary mental hospital to the philosophy, methods, and findings of environmental psychology? Second, to what degree is Goffman's concept of "total institution" applicable to a contemporary mental hospital? The research was designed as a case study, which involved a combination of methods, including interviews, participant observation, and behavioral mapping.;The staff showed few effects of being introduced to environmental psychology, though there seemed to be some impact among administrators. These findings are explained in terms of the presence of various stressors on the staff (e.g., threats of layoffs), and the institution's shift away from external and toward internal explanations and treatments. With regard to the second research question, the hospital included in the study easily fit the criteria for being defined as a total institution. It was observed that the hospital became increasingly institutional during the period of study.;In conclusion, contemporary mental hospitals may not be that dissimilar in their institutional qualities from the state-run mental hospitals of the past, even though the former are typically smaller in scale and confine patients for much shorter periods of time.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
