A placebo is a commonly used control in drug studies. It is also important to use as a control in clinical research on psychotherapies because:
A) people can show spontaneous remission in psychotherapy studies just as they can in drug studies.
B) researchers can examine unwanted side effects of psychotherapies just as they examine such side effects in drug studies.
C) researchers can prevent study participants from showing a negative reaction to a treatment that is actually ineffective.
D) it controls for the expectation that a psychotherapy procedure will produce improvement just as with receiving a drug.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A placebo is important in clinical research on psychotherapies because it controls for the expectation that a psychotherapy procedure will produce improvement, just as receiving a drug can lead to expectations of improvement. This helps ensure that any observed effects are actually due to the therapy itself and not simply a result of the placebo effect or participant expectations.

A Placebo Is a Commonly Used Control in Drug Studies