The placebo effect
What is the placebo effect
• The placebo effect is a psychological phenomenon where a person
experiences a real improvement in their condition after receiving a
treatment that has no therapeutic effect.
• The placebo effect relies on the power of the mind’s influence over
the body, triggered by expectations and beliefs
What is the science behind
• Psychological Mechanism: The placebo effect occurs when a person's
belief or expectation in a treatment leads to real improvements,
driven by their mindset and belief in the treatment's efficacy
• Brain Chemistry: Expectation can trigger the release of
neurotransmitters like endorphins and dopamine, which reduce pain
and improve mood, leading to real physical changes
• Conditioned Response: Past experiences and social cues, like a
doctor’s confidence, can cause the body to respond to an inert
treatment as if it were real, creating symptom relief even without
active ingredients
Help to society
• Development of new drugs: when ever testing for new drugs and if
they are helping having an impact on the body, the placebo effect can
be used to test if people are lying or if the drug actually works
• Enhancing Treatment Efficacy: The placebo effect can improve the
effectiveness of real treatments by boosting patients’ expectations,
triggering brain chemicals that promote healing, and improving
outcomes in conditions like pain or depression.
How to do the experiment
• A inert pill is used to convince that you don’t feel spice
• 3 volunteer are used where only one is given the pill
• 2 volunteers have to act that the pill is working
• Go through a range of products until they feel something
conclusion
• The placebo effect is a phenomenon that can be beneficial in the field
of science, particularly in development of drugs
• There are also negative effects like the nocebo where the person may
believe the pill has no effect on them
• The effect still can have a massive impact on a person and massive
research is still needed to properly define how it tricks your brain
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