Chapter 05 of 5
What's Really Happening
Separating real placebo effects from things that only look like them.
- The Puzzle
Why people improve
When people get better after a placebo, several different things could be happening — not all of them are the placebo effect.
- Natural Course
Getting better anyway
Many conditions, like colds and back pain, improve on their own over time.
- Regression
Back toward average
People often seek treatment when symptoms are at their worst. Symptoms then tend to drift back toward normal anyway.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
In the 2011 asthma study, what happened when patients used placebo inhalers?
💊 The Power of Expectation
- 01Sugar Pills That WorkThe placebo effect — what it is, and what it can and can't do.
- 02The Nocebo EffectWhen expecting harm makes you feel worse.
- 03Fake Surgery, Real ResultsTrials where pretend operations worked as well as real ones.
- 04Honest PlacebosPlacebos that help even when patients know they're fake.
- 05What's Really HappeningSeparating real placebo effects from things that only look like them.