Michael:

You and your student might check out some recent writings by Irving
Kirsch on the validity and efficacy of placebos, in a wide range of
settings including health and therapy.

You could start with a controversial yet oft-cited paper entitled:

Listening to Prozac but Hearing Placebo: A Meta-Analysis of Antidepressant
Medication (Kirsch & Saperstein, 1998).
Prevention & Treatment, Volume 1, Article 0002a, posted June 26, 1998 

which is available online if your library subscribes to the CSA Internet
Database Service. In this article, the authors posit that "virtually all
of the variation in drug effect size was due to the placebo
characteristics of the studies". This conclusion was based on
meta-analyses of double-blind clinical trials. 

-Max Gwynn

On
Tue, 14 Jan 2003, sylvestm wrote:

>  Since placebo effects can be assessed in a number of subjects,wouldn't
>  this replication factor attest to the scientific reliability of placebos?
> 
>  Michael Sylvester,PhD
>  Daytona Beach,Florida 
> 
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Maxwell Gwynn, PhD                              [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Psychology                        (519) 884-0710 ext 3854
Wilfrid Laurier University
Waterloo, Ontario  N2L 3C5 Canada



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