Amelia is a general physician. One of her patients claimed to be suffering from constant stomach aches. After running some tests, Amelia concludes that the patient is not suffering from any medical disorder. However, the patient insisted that she has stomach cancer. The patient then volunteered for a medical trial where she was given a pill with a new medication while participants in the trial were given sugar pills. This best exemplifies _____.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of a placebo, as the patient was given a sugar pill instead of the medication they believed they were receiving. The purpose of a placebo is to observe whether the patient's belief in the treatment has an effect on their symptoms. A) Volunteer bias refers to the idea that volunteers in a study may have unique characteristics that differ from the general population, and is not relevant to this scenario. C) A nocebo occurs when a patient's negative expectations about a treatment lead to negative outcomes, which is also not relevant to this scenario. D) Debriefing refers to the process of informing study participants about the true nature and purpose of a study after it has concluded, and is not relevant to this scenario.

Amelia Is a General Physician