How soon we forget. We've known this for a long time see Park & Covi
(1965) -- however this was just a group case study:
Title:Nonblind placebo trial.
Author:Park, Lee C.;Covi, Lino
Author Affiliation:Johns Hopkins Hosp., Baltimore
Appears In: Archives of General Psychiatry. 12(4), 1965, 336-345.
Abstract: 15 anxious, neurotic outpatients were placed on placebo
treatment for 1 week after being informed the pills contained inert
material. 14 reported improvement. 8 Ss believed the pills were
placebos. Only 3 were absolutely certain of this. 6 Ssthought the pills
contained drugs, with 2 Ss absolutely certain. Improvement was not
related to belief in the nature of the pills but did appear related to
certainty of belief. Main finding: patients can be willing to take
placebo and can improvedespite knowledge of the inert content of the
pills. Belief in pill as drug was not a requirement for improvement. (25
ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record © 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
>>> "Pollak, Edward" 01/03/11 2:13 PM >>>
P {MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px}
This is not surprising to me given that classical conditioning can
produce a "placebo effect" in rats. In fact, now that I'm thinking about
it, why can't any (classically) conditioned stimulus but regarded as a
placebo?
Ed
Sham pills may help us—even without the sham
Sham pills, known as placebos, have been used in countless medical
studies for decades. By comparing their effects to those of real
medicines, researchers can discount the possibility that the
true drugs work merely because the idea of having been treated makes
us feel better.
But researchers say they now seem to have made a surprise discovery.
Not only do the fake pills truly make some patients feel
improved—that much was already known—but they can even work when
the doctors drop any pretense that this is real medicine.
For more see http://www.world-science.net/othernews/101222_placebo.htm
Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
http://home.comcast.net/~epollak/home.htm
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Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, & bluegrass fiddler......
in approximate order of importance.
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