Which of these is an example of the placebo effect?
A) Patients report better effects from colored pills than from white ones, even though they contain the exact same medicine.
B) Medication taken at the same time each day is more effective than medicine taken as needed.
C) Women have a lower tolerance for medication than men, and therefore experience more side effects.
D) Patients ask their doctors for specific drugs after they have seen them advertised on television.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The placebo effect is when a patient perceives an improvement in their condition even though they have received a treatment with no active ingredients. In this case, the colored pills have no actual effect on the patient's health, but the patient believes they do and reports feeling better after taking them.

The other choices do not accurately represent the placebo effect. B is an example of adherence to a medication schedule, C is a gender difference in medication side effects, and D is an example of pharmaceutical advertising.

Which of These Is an Example of the Placebo Effect