The Placebo vs. Nocebo Effects
Photo by Pixabay
Expectations are an essential part of our perception of the world. How we feel about a specific topic beforehand can vastly influence our sensory and psychological experience of it. Positive expectations may ease distress and reduce pain. This is known as the placebo effect, the phenomenon in which your brain convinces your body that a fake treatment has real medical benefits. On the other hand, negative expectations can intensify anxiety and amplify pain. This is the lesser-known nocebo effect, which occurs when a patient's negative expectations for a treatment cause the cure to have a worse impact than it otherwise would have.
A study published online by PLOS Biology tested these two effects using hot sauce. In their experiment, researchers gave two groups of people—separated into whether they liked or disliked spicy foods—doses of hot sauce. There were two runs: one where the participants were told nothing about the sauce’s intensity and another where they were given spiciness cues based on color, with blue denoting low intensity and red representing high intensity. The sauces used in both rounds were the same; the only difference was whether the participants knew what was coming through the presence or absence of these chromatic cues. The researchers’ discoveries were consistent with those previous notions of the placebo and nocebo effects. The group that liked spice experienced less intensity when given visual cues rather than when going in blind. On the other hand, the group that disliked spice felt greater displeasure when presented with cues as opposed to when they had no expectations.
These conclusions reveal the influence of expectations on the brain. Even when the sensory experience is the same, hedonic expectations influence our conscious reports of subjective experiences. Optimistic anticipations may facilitate exploration and reward-seeking, while pessimistic suppositions can activate defensive and avoidance responses. If the power of expectations is harnessed, it could significantly benefit healthcare, potentially allowing patients a better chance of recovery if they believe it is possible. Even in everyday life, our prior sentiments and assumptions can seriously impact our perception of the world. These expectations are why it’s important to have a positive outlook on life—it will allow us to be much happier and content.
Sources
