Mental Disorders During the 1920s
Mental disorders during the 1920s were not always understood, and at times believed to be treated cruel and inhumane. In the 1920s Mental Health America produced a set of model commitment laws, which were subsequently incorporated into the statues of several states. Mental illnesses are biologically- based disorders which interfere with an individual's ability to think, feel, act, and relate within the standard norms of society. These types of illnesses afflicts people of every age, race, creed, and socioeconomic background. During the 1920s there was a few well known experiments or treatments that are still remembered today. These are known as the Little Albert Experiment, Shell Shock Syndrome, and pyschoanalysis.
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Little Albert Experiment
In 1920 Watson and Rayner showed that classical conditioning applied to humans, by the Little Albert Experiment. Little Albert was a 9 month old infant who was tested on his reaction to various stimuli. He was shown a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey and various masks. Albert showed no fear of any of these stimuli, but burst into tears when a hammar was struck against a steel bar behind his head. Once Albert was alittle over 11 months old the white rat was presented and followed by a hammar that struck against a steel bar. This happened seven times over seven weeks and each time Albert burst into tears. Once this part of the experiment was complete "little Albert" only had to see the rat and he immediately showed fear toward it. In this experiment Watson and Rayner showed that classical conditioning could be used to create a phobia. A phobia is a irrational fear, a fear that is out of proportion to the danger. Over the following months he was observed and 10 days after conditioning his fear of the rat was much less marked. This dying out of a learned response, was still evident after a month.
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Shell Shock Syndrome
In the 1920s shell shock syndrome was a huge problem due to the fact that many soldiers were coming home with the symptoms of this illness. Symptoms included fatigue, tremor, confusion, nightmares and impaired sight and hearing. Many during this time believed that shell shocked syndrome was simply cowardice or malingering. Some thought that the condition would be better addressed by military discipline. During the 1920s this syndrome was still new and very confusing to those who didn't understand mental illnesses and how they started.
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Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a system of psychological theory and therapy that aims to treat mental disprders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind and bringing repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind by techniques such as dream interpreatation and free association. This was created by Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud came to the US in the 1920s. Some of his ideas that were presented during his visit was his ideas about how central sexual desires are to human beings. He argued that many problems people have come from repressed sexual desires. He created a therapeutic ideal for a mental patient. Frued performed studies on neurosis, hysteria, self-analysis, and created the idea of the Id, Ego, and Super-Ego. The 1920s were a time in the US, of loosing values and sexual values were loosed as well.
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