Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

The Placebo Effect01:54

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 Procedures02:07

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...
Blinding01:11

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.
Classical Conditioning in Daily Life01:17

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...
Regression Toward the Mean01:52

Regression Toward the Mean

Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when researchers try to extrapolate results...
Dosage Regimen: Multiple Oral Dosage01:25

Dosage Regimen: Multiple Oral Dosage

Understanding how a drug's concentration fluctuates within the body over time is crucial in pharmacokinetics, particularly with multiple oral doses. A graphical representation of multiple oral dosages provides insight into these dynamics. Typical accumulation curves of a drug's concentration in the body reveal a sawtooth pattern, indicating periodic peaks and troughs correlating with each dose administration and the drug's subsequent elimination.The plasma concentration at any time during an...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Restoring STAR*D: A RIAT Reanalysis of Medication Augmentation Therapy After Failed SSRI Treatment Using Patient-Level Data with Fidelity to the Original Research Protocol.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2025
Same author

Large responses to antidepressants or methodological artifacts? A secondary analysis of STAR∗D, a single-arm, open-label, nonindustry antidepressant trial.

Journal of clinical epidemiology·2025
Same author

Severe Asthma Questionnaire (SAQ) and Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) as Early Predictors of Biologic Response in Severe Asthma.

Journal of asthma and allergy·2025
Same author

Efficacy of open-label placebos for premenstrual syndrome: a randomised controlled trial.

BMJ evidence-based medicine·2025
Same author

Restoring STAR*D: A Reanalysis of Drug-Switch Therapy After Failed SSRI Treatment Using Patient-Level Data with Fidelity to the Original STAR*D Research Protocol.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2025
Same author

The risks of adverse events with mirtazapine for adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.

BMC psychiatry·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 5, 2026

How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants
08:50

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

Published on: December 14, 2014

Consistency of the placebo effect.

Ben Whalley1, Michael E Hyland, Irving Kirsch

  • 1School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK.

Journal of Psychosomatic Research
|April 29, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The placebo effect is consistent when the same placebo is used, but not when different placebos are presented. Expectancy predicts placebo response, but personality traits do not reliably predict placebo effects across different contexts.

More Related Videos

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
11:51

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
08:32

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

Published on: December 18, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 5, 2026

How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants
08:50

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
11:51

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
08:32

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

Published on: December 18, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pain Management

Background:

  • The reliability of personality traits as predictors of the placebo effect remains debated.
  • Consistent placebo responses are necessary for reliable prediction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the consistency of placebo analgesic effects across multiple trials.
  • To identify reliable predictors of the placebo effect, including personality traits and response expectancy.

Main Methods:

  • Participants received identical experimental pain stimuli on matching fingers, with one finger treated with placebo cream and the other untreated.
  • Two placebo creams with different labels were used, and the procedure was repeated within 8 days.
  • Personality traits (acquiescence, absorption) and response expectancy were measured as potential predictors.

Main Results:

  • Placebo effects were highly correlated (r=.60–.77) when identical placebos were used but not when different placebos were presented.
  • Response expectancy significantly predicted placebo effects.
  • No significant association was found between placebo effects and the personality traits of acquiescence or absorption.

Conclusions:

  • Context-specific prediction of placebo response, such as through expectancy, is feasible.
  • Personality traits are not consistent predictors of placebo effects across varying contexts.