Experiments testing placebo effect

The Power of the Placebo Effect

A psychology experiment was conducted to test the placebo effect

Excerpt:

Scientist genrally agree that for the placebo effect to occur, the subject must believe that he is given effective treatment and that it must be suggested to him that the treatment is effective. The question of how and why placebo responses are generated is still a matter of debate and three well-known theories have been proposed, though these three are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The first theory argues that the placebo effect is the result of the subject-expectancy effect: subjects will expect a given result and will therefore report that result. Another theory argues that it is the result of classical conditioning. Proponents of this theory explain that people are conditioned to associate a particular stimulus with a particular response. With confronted with a stimulus of a placebo that is perceived to be medicine, subjects will give off the appropriate response, which is relief. The last theory proposes that motivation to feel better and cooperate with an experimenter to be the ultimate cause (Carroll).

Read more: http://socyberty.com/psychology/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect/#ixzz0uyAdalyQ