A woman with chronic pain takes a course in relaxation therapy and reports that she has less pain. Can you be sure that the course really led to the pain relief?
A) Yes
B) No, there are too many potentially confounding variables.
C) No, you can never trust what patients tell you.
D) Only if we are careful to use the same pain scale before and after treatment.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

There are many potentially confounding variables that could have contributed to the woman's pain relief, such as a placebo effect, natural fluctuations in pain levels, or other changes in her life. Without a control group or other measures to rule out these factors, we cannot be certain that the course in relaxation therapy alone led to the pain relief.

A Woman with Chronic Pain Takes a Course in Relaxation