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Empirical investigation into placebo effectiveness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Barbara Dolinska
Barbara Dolinska*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, ul. Dawida 1, Wroclaw, Poland
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Abstract

Objectives: To investigate whether placebo effects may vary in strength, depending on appearance of the medication.

Method: Polish subjects were randomly given different kinds of pills and told that the medicine was produced abroad or in Poland and that it was cheap or very expensive. Measures of different forms of well-being were taken directly after the ‘therapy’.

Results: Subjective ratings were higher for subjects who received big white or small red medicine compared to subjects who received small white or big red pills. The results are discussed in the light of the subject's previous experience with drugs of different kinds.

Conclusion: It was shown that placebo effects do vary in strength, depending on the appearance of the pill.

Keywords

Placebo effectivenessDrug therapyPolandPolish subjects
Type
Brief Reports
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , June 1999 , pp. 57 - 58
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

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