Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

The Placebo Effect

The Placebo Effect

The placebo effect occurs when people's expectations or beliefs influence or determine their experience in a given situation. In other words, simply expecting something to happen can actually make it happen.

Blind Procedures

Blind Procedures

Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which child was...

Blinding

Blinding

Blinding is a commonly used method of not telling participants which treatment a subject is receiving. Blinding is a critical part of a randomized control trial or RCT. It reduces the bias that affects the results. In an RCT, blinding is used in the form of a placebo. A placebo effect occurs when untreated subjects falsely believe they have received the treatment and report improved symptoms. A placebo or a dummy treatment is administered to subjects to negate the bias caused by such an effect.

Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect

While variables are sometimes correlated because one does cause the other, it could also be that some other factor, a confounding variable, is actually causing the systematic movement in our variables of interest. For instance, as sales in ice cream increase, so does the overall rate of crime. Is it possible that indulging in your favorite flavor of ice cream could send you on a crime spree? Or, after committing crime do you think you might decide to treat yourself to a cone?

Classical Conditioning in Daily Life

Classical Conditioning in Daily Life

Classical conditioning, a fundamental principle of associative learning, explains various phenomena observed in daily life, such as fear development, the placebo effect, taste aversion, and drug habituation. These applications demonstrate the profound impact of associative learning on human behavior and physiological responses.
John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner famously demonstrated the development of fear through classical conditioning in their experiment with Little Albert. They paired the...

What is an Experiment?

What is an Experiment?

An experiment is a planned activity carried out under controlled conditions. The purpose of an experiment is to investigate the relationship between two variables. When one variable causes change in another, we call the first variable the explanatory or independent variable. The affected variable is called the response or dependent variable. In a randomized experiment, the researcher manipulates values of the explanatory variable and measures the resulting changes in the response variable. The...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

What does degeneration mean? The use and abuse of an ambiguous word.

The New Zealand medical journal·2011

Same author

What is degeneration? The misuse of an ambiguous word.

The New Zealand medical journal·2009

Same author

The glucosamine debate: is it better than placebo?

Inflammopharmacology·2009

Same author

Does control of rheumatic disease raise the standard of living in developing countries?

Clinical rheumatology·2009

Same author

Rheumatic diseases in China.

Arthritis research & therapy·2008

Same author

Risk factors associated with rheumatic complaints: a WHO-ILAR COPCORD study in Shantou, Southeast China.

The Journal of rheumatology·2005

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 10, 2026

How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants

How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants

Published on: December 14, 2014

When is a placebo effect not an effect?

Richard Wigley¹

¹World Health Organization Collaborating, Centre for Epidemiology of Rheumatic Disease, Palmerston North Hospital, New Zealand. r.d.wigley@xtra.co.nz

Clinical Medicine (London, England)

|November 10, 2007

Summary

When clinical trials show a placebo effect, it means the treatment is not more effective than a placebo. This distinction is crucial for clarity in discussions about complementary and alternative medicine.

Area of Science:

Medical research methodology
Clinical trial analysis
Evidence-based medicine

Background:

Misinterpretation of clinical trial outcomes is common.
Placebo effects are frequently observed in medical research.
The debate surrounding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) requires precise terminology.

Purpose of the Study:

To clarify the precise meaning of "treatment ineffectiveness" when a placebo effect is present.
To advocate for accurate phrasing in scientific and public discourse regarding treatment efficacy.
To prevent public confusion surrounding the interpretation of clinical trial results, particularly in the context of CAM.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of clinical trial reporting standards.

More Related Videos

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making

Published on: March 2, 2011

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Published on: December 18, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 10, 2026

How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants

How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants

Published on: December 14, 2014

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making

Published on: March 2, 2011

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Published on: December 18, 2014

Linguistic analysis of terms related to treatment efficacy and placebo effects.

Review of current literature and public discourse on complementary and alternative medicine.

Main Results:

Stating a treatment is "not effective" when a placebo effect is found is imprecise.
Accurate phrasing should state that the "tested treatment is not more effective than the placebo."
This distinction is vital for maintaining scientific integrity and public understanding.

Conclusions:

Precise language in reporting clinical trial results is essential.
Correctly interpreting placebo effects prevents miscommunication about treatment effectiveness.
Clear communication is necessary for informed public debate on healthcare interventions, including CAM.