What was the difference between real patients and doctors in the Rosenhan study? Real patients could tell that the pseudo-patients were not ill, while the doctors believed them to be. Real patients believed that the doctors were not treating the pseudo-patients harshly enough based on their illnesses. Real patients believed that the pseudo-patients were truly ill, while the doctors could tell they were not. Doctors believed that they were treating their pseudo-patients more harshly than their real patients