Susanna Kaysen’s memoir, Girl, Interrupted, contains multiple psychological themes and ideas including classical and operant conditioning, family systems theory, and reactivity. These themes and ideas can be observed often between Kaysen and the staff members, specifically the head nurse, Valerie, and Mrs. McWeeny, and other patients of McLean Hospital, specifically Lisa and Alice Calais.
In the McLean Hospital, not only are the patients conditioned by the staff, but the staff members are also conditioned by the patients. Both classical and operant conditioning can be found often throughout Kaysen’s memoir. An instance in which operant conditioning can be seen is when the patients scream and act out, they receive medication. Throughout the …show more content…
This is seen throughout the influence that both the McLean Hospital and the outside world have on the patients. For example, the McLean system influences how the patients are treated and how the patients are “dealt with” while in the hospital. If the patients are acting out or causing disturbances, then they are placed in the seclusion room or, in extreme cases, the maximum security ward until their behavior changes. Kaysen describes the seclusion room as the only place where the patients can have any privacy and the only place where patients can act out without being disciplined. She states that often some of the patients will go in the room alone if they are upset or if they would like to have some privacy. An particular instance in which a patient is placed in the maximum security ward, due to lack of improvement in behavior, can be associated with Alice Calais. Kaysen at first describes her as being boring and normal. Later, however, Kaysen describes “Alice explod[ing] like a volcano” (Kaysen 112). Alice’s uncontrollable outburst results in her placement on the maximum security ward. “Checks” are another way that the McLean system maintains the disturbances of the patients. The nurses check in on their patients in different intervals. Some patients have checks every five minutes, while others have checks every fifteen minutes, or every thirty minutes. Kaysen describes checks as reminders of how much time has been lost. She claims that they are “chopping of pieces of [time] and lobbing them into a dustbin with a little click to let you know time [is] gone” (Kaysen 54). The outside world also influences the patients. Kaysen discusses how the outside world views her differently. She states that after she releases her address, the McLean Hospital address, “[a]pplying for a job, leasing an apartment, getting a driver’s license: all problematic” (Kaysen 123). She claims
In the McLean Hospital, not only are the patients conditioned by the staff, but the staff members are also conditioned by the patients. Both classical and operant conditioning can be found often throughout Kaysen’s memoir. An instance in which operant conditioning can be seen is when the patients scream and act out, they receive medication. Throughout the …show more content…
This is seen throughout the influence that both the McLean Hospital and the outside world have on the patients. For example, the McLean system influences how the patients are treated and how the patients are “dealt with” while in the hospital. If the patients are acting out or causing disturbances, then they are placed in the seclusion room or, in extreme cases, the maximum security ward until their behavior changes. Kaysen describes the seclusion room as the only place where the patients can have any privacy and the only place where patients can act out without being disciplined. She states that often some of the patients will go in the room alone if they are upset or if they would like to have some privacy. An particular instance in which a patient is placed in the maximum security ward, due to lack of improvement in behavior, can be associated with Alice Calais. Kaysen at first describes her as being boring and normal. Later, however, Kaysen describes “Alice explod[ing] like a volcano” (Kaysen 112). Alice’s uncontrollable outburst results in her placement on the maximum security ward. “Checks” are another way that the McLean system maintains the disturbances of the patients. The nurses check in on their patients in different intervals. Some patients have checks every five minutes, while others have checks every fifteen minutes, or every thirty minutes. Kaysen describes checks as reminders of how much time has been lost. She claims that they are “chopping of pieces of [time] and lobbing them into a dustbin with a little click to let you know time [is] gone” (Kaysen 54). The outside world also influences the patients. Kaysen discusses how the outside world views her differently. She states that after she releases her address, the McLean Hospital address, “[a]pplying for a job, leasing an apartment, getting a driver’s license: all problematic” (Kaysen 123). She claims