A researcher believes that if a new form of therapy works, it works only because the patient expects it to work. In psychology, this phenomenon is referred to as

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The placebo effect occurs when a patient's symptoms are alleviated by an otherwise ineffective treatment, due to the patient's belief in that treatment's efficacy. This aligns with the researcher's belief described in the question.  Placebo therapy (therapy based on the belief that improvement will occur, which leads to actual improvement) is an important part of the therapeutic process. However, researchers generally want to show that their specific therapy is more effective than the placebo effect alone.

A Researcher Believes That If a New Form of Therapy