Operant conditioning as a new mechanism of placebo effects

Placebo effects are considered to be learning phenomena. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the role of both classical conditioning and observational learning in the induction of placebo effects. However, the third basic learning process, operant conditioning, was not considered as a mechanism of placebo effects until very recently. Unlike classically conditioned responses, which are induced by stimuli that precede the behaviour, operant behaviours are shaped and maintained by their consequences. Thus, placebo effects may not only result from pairing an active intervention with the stimuli that accompany its administration (placebo) but also positive (e.g. the ability to perform a desired activity) or negative reinforcement (e.g. pain relief) of placebo administration may increase the frequency of taking placebos in the future. The paper reviews the evidence supporting the idea of operant conditioning as a mechanism of placebo effects and discusses it in the context of the general principles of operant conditioning, the operant conditioning account of pain modulation and research findings on the role of operant conditioning in pain modulation.

This is a narrative review.

Seven lines of research are proposed to study the role of operant conditioning in producing placebo effects.

Operant conditioning account of placebo effects has practical implications both for routine clinical practice and the placebo arms of randomized controlled trials.

The operant conditioning account of placebo effects is discussed from the theoretical perspective of the general principles of operant conditioning and the operant conditioning account of pain modulation. The paper identifies seven lines of research on the role of operant conditioning in producing placebo effects, and highlights the practical implications of the operant conditioning account of placebo effects both for routine clinical practice and the placebo arms of randomized controlled trials.