Martha Mitchell effect: Difference between revisions
→Origin: Deleted assertion that what what was unproved was imagined, and deleted gratuitous insult by Richard Nixon blaming Martha Mitchell's talkativeness for causing the crimes she tried to warn others about. |
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==Origin== |
==Origin== |
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Psychologist Brendan Maher named the effect after [[Martha Beall Mitchell]].<ref name=Maher1988>Maher, B.A. (1988) "Anomalous experience and delusional thinking: The logic of explanations." In T. Oltmanns and B. Maher (eds) ''Delusional Beliefs''. New York: Wiley Interscience</ref> Mrs. Mitchell was the wife of [[John N. Mitchell|John Mitchell]], [[United States Attorney General|Attorney-General]] in the [[Nixon administration]]. When she alleged that [[White House]] officials were engaged in illegal activities, her claims were attributed to mental illness. Ultimately, however, the facts of the [[Watergate scandal]] vindicated her and garnered the label, "The [[Cassandra (metaphor)|Cassandra]] of Watergate". However, many of her allegations remain unproven |
Psychologist Brendan Maher named the effect after [[Martha Beall Mitchell]].<ref name=Maher1988>Maher, B.A. (1988) "Anomalous experience and delusional thinking: The logic of explanations." In T. Oltmanns and B. Maher (eds) ''Delusional Beliefs''. New York: Wiley Interscience</ref> Mrs. Mitchell was the wife of [[John N. Mitchell|John Mitchell]], [[United States Attorney General|Attorney-General]] in the [[Nixon administration]]. When she alleged that [[White House]] officials were engaged in illegal activities, her claims were attributed to mental illness. Ultimately, however, the facts of the [[Watergate scandal]] vindicated her and garnered the label, "The [[Cassandra (metaphor)|Cassandra]] of Watergate". However, many of her allegations remain unproven, such as her claim that she had been drugged and put under guard during a visit to California, after her husband had been summoned back to Washington, in order to prevent her from leaving the hotel or making phone calls to the news media.<ref>Reeves, Richard ''President Nixon: Alone in the White House'', p. 511.</ref> |
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After the Watergate break-in, Martha Mitchell began contacting reporters when her husband's role in the scandal became known, for which she became known as "the Mouth of the South". Nixon later told interviewer [[David Frost]] (in September 1977 on Frost on America) that Martha was a distraction to John Mitchell such that no one was minding the store, and "If it hadn't been for Martha Mitchell, there'd have been no Watergate." |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 08:36, 21 January 2013
The Martha Mitchell effect is the process by which a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health clinician mistakes the patient's perception of real events as delusional and misdiagnoses accordingly.
Description
According to Bell et al., "Sometimes, improbable reports are erroneously assumed to be symptoms of mental illness," due to a "failure or inability to verify whether the events have actually taken place, no matter how improbable intuitively they might appear to the busy clinician."[1] They note that typical examples of such situations, may include:
- Pursuit by practitioners of organized crime
- Surveillance by law enforcement officers
- Infidelity by a spouse
- Physical issues
Quoting psychotherapist Joseph Berke, the authors note that "even paranoids have enemies." Any patient, they explain, can be misdiagnosed by clinicians, especially patients with a history of paranoid delusions.
Origin
Psychologist Brendan Maher named the effect after Martha Beall Mitchell.[2] Mrs. Mitchell was the wife of John Mitchell, Attorney-General in the Nixon administration. When she alleged that White House officials were engaged in illegal activities, her claims were attributed to mental illness. Ultimately, however, the facts of the Watergate scandal vindicated her and garnered the label, "The Cassandra of Watergate". However, many of her allegations remain unproven, such as her claim that she had been drugged and put under guard during a visit to California, after her husband had been summoned back to Washington, in order to prevent her from leaving the hotel or making phone calls to the news media.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Beliefs About Delusions". The Psychologist. 16 (8): 418–422. August 2003. JI 0.325.
{{cite journal}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter|authors=(help) - ^ Maher, B.A. (1988) "Anomalous experience and delusional thinking: The logic of explanations." In T. Oltmanns and B. Maher (eds) Delusional Beliefs. New York: Wiley Interscience
- ^ Reeves, Richard President Nixon: Alone in the White House, p. 511.