The placebo effect is a measurable improvement in a person's symptoms following an inert or sham treatment, produced by psychological mechanisms such as expectation, conditioning and the therapeutic context of care rather than by any direct pharmacological action of the treatment itself. It has been documented across pain, mood and other subjective symptom measures, and its size varies with how strongly a treatment is expected to work. Anesthesiologist Henry K. Beecher's 1955 paper The Powerful Placebo is widely credited with establishing the effect's clinical significance and prompting its systematic study.
Facts
Core ClaimExpecting a treatment to work can itself produce a real, measurable improvement in symptoms, independent of the treatment's own pharmacological action. 1 First Described Year Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Placebo
Wikimedia FoundationEtymology and definition sectionQuote, Etymology and definition section
A medicine or treatment intended to appear genuine to its recipient, but which has no pharmaceutical effect.
1. Wikipedia: Placebo
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section
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