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A comment on Is Psychology Going to Cincinnati?. Parent comment

Re:Is Psychology Going to Cincinnati? by wavemode on Friday October 11, 2024 @10:07AM (#41809591)
Placebos have been studied. Most studies have found that, while placebos are effective for treating pain, they are mostly not effective outside of that, when compared to receiving no treatment at all.

Some people really do become spontaneously cured of diseases, yes - it happens all the time, and is something worth studying further. But the idea that the placebo effect is what causes it, is not really well-founded.

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Re:Is Psychology Going to Cincinnati? by mike_hearn on Friday October 11, 2024 @12:18PM (#41810821)
Clinical trials do use placebos all the time, even when studying things that don't involve pain.

Somewhat notoriously some trials give patients a placebo that's actually another drug, as otherwise people could unblind themselves by not suffering side effects. The COVID vaccine trials did this. It doesn't make sense if you think the placebo effect only influences perception of pain, as otherwise you could lose the placebo entirely and double your statistical power (compare against a synthetic control group).

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