Sally has been suffering from depression and finally decides to seek help from a clinical psychologist. After a couple of months of therapy, Sally starts to recover from depression. However, her improvement really isn't due to the therapy she has received from her therapist, but instead is a product of Sally's expectation that psychotherapy is supposed to be effective and therefore she should be getting better. This example is best considered as an example of
A)an experimenter expectancy effect
B)the double-blind effect
C)the placebo effect
D)social desirability

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The improvement in Sally's condition due to her expectations rather than the actual efficacy of the therapy is an example of the placebo effect. This effect occurs when a person experiences a physical or emotional improvement after receiving a treatment that has no therapeutic effect, simply because they believe the treatment is effective.

Sally Has Been Suffering from Depression and Finally Decides to Seek