The relative explanatory power of psychiatric and social variables in the decision to hospitalize and retain mental health patients has been debated primarily by those committed to either the psychiatric (medical) or the labelling model. The issue is considered here through a critical review of the research literature with a commitment to neither model. The research does not allow for unequivocal conclusions, but there is a clear tendency for admission and discharge of mental patients to be related more to social than to psychiatric variables, particularly when the patients are unwilling to be committed or retained. We argue that the search for the best explanation of the research findings on societal reaction to this form of deviant behavior is not limited to the narrow choice presented by proponents of the labelling and psychiatric perspectives. Specifically, a social learning model is suggested as an alternative paradigm capable of better accounting for the research findings.