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Posted: Monday, 21 April 2008 3:53PM

Dr. Brian McDonough on the Placebo Effect

NEW YORK (1010 WINS)  -- It’s another case of people thinking that something is better just because it costs more. People in marketing have known this for years, and a recent Duke study has found the concept crosses into health care as well. 

You may have heard the term “placebo effect.” 

This is what doctors call the reaction when someone take a sugar pill and feels better even though there was no medicine involved in the process. 

The latest version of the “placebo effect” is down right fascinating. Researchers tested 82 volunteers. All got an electric shock and were offered what they were told was a painkiller. Half were given a brochure describing the pill as a newly approved painkiller that costs $2.50 per dose and half were given a brochure describing it as marked down to 10 cents. 

85% of volunteers who thought they were getting a $2.50 pill said they felt less pain after taking it, compared with 61% of those who thought they were getting a discounted drug.

(TM & Copyright 2008 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO & EYE Logo TM & Copyright 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Inthe interest of timeliness, this story may contain occasional typographical errors.)
 
 
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