The Ethics of Deception Research

6min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The placebo effect is used to make people feel better, but it's not a substitute for actually getting treatment. The researchers say they followed all of the protocols and their research participants were fascinated by what was going on. They also believe that doctors may have done this in the past with homeopathy or other bogus treatments.

How powerful is the placebo effect? After a good night’s sleep could a scientist convince you that you had tossed and turned, and if so, how would that affect your perceptions and behavior? What if a doctor told you that you had slept like a baby when in reality you had barely slept at all? Would hearing those words improve your performance on a difficult test?

In this episode we learn the answers to these questions and more as we explore how research continues to unravel the mysteries behind the placebo effect and how it can drastically alter our bodies and minds.

Our guest is Kristi Erdal, a psychologist at Colorado College who discovered placebo sleep along with one of her students, Christina Draganich. Draganich wondered if such a thing might exist after reading all the literature on placebos, and Erdal helped her create the research methods she used to test her hypothesis.

Patreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart