Mrs. K calls your office and speaks to you for about half an hour about her interpersonal difficulties with her husband. You discuss your theoretical orientation and the interventions that you may teach her during subsequent sessions, as well as your firm belief with regard to the efficacy of therapy. Mrs. K sounds much calmer after your discussion and schedules a session for two weeks from today. Two weeks later, Mrs. K indicates in session that she has been feeling more hopeful in the past two weeks and her marital relationship has improved. This is likely an example of the:
A) motivation to change effect.
B) plaster effect.
C) placebo effect.
D) placation effect.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The improvement Mrs. K experienced before any formal therapy interventions were applied can be attributed to the placebo effect. This effect occurs when a person perceives an improvement in their condition due to their expectations of treatment, rather than the treatment itself. In this case, the conversation with the therapist and the anticipation of receiving help likely contributed to Mrs. K feeling more hopeful and seeing improvements in her marital relationship, despite not yet having started the therapy sessions.

Mrs K Calls Your Office and Speaks to You for About