A psychologist recently said that, "For relatively mild medical problems, the placebo effect will produce positive results in roughly two-thirds of patients." The placebo effect is
A) the bias due to voluntary response in a sample.
B) the effect of a dummy treatment on a patient.
C) a violation of comparative experimentation.
D) the effect of confounding in an observational study.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The placebo effect refers to the positive effect seen in patients who receive a dummy treatment, such as a sugar pill, because they believe they are receiving a real treatment. This effect is not due to any active ingredients in the placebo, but instead is believed to arise from psychological factors such as the patient's expectations and the doctor-patient relationship. As the psychologist stated, the placebo effect can be quite strong, producing positive results in roughly two-thirds of patients with relatively mild medical problems. Therefore, choice B is the correct answer.

A Psychologist Recently Said That, "For Relatively Mild Medical Problems