Psychologists studying the placebo effect have found that the size, color, and even reported price of an inert pill can influence how much pain relief patients report. Patients told that a sugar pill cost ten dollars often reported greater symptom improvement than those told the identical pill cost ten cents. The same principle applies to procedures: sham surgeries with elaborate staging sometimes produce more reported relief than minimal sham procedures.
Which conclusion most logically follows from the passage?
- Acheck_circle
Patient expectations and contextual cues can shape reported clinical outcomes
- B
Pain relief is impossible without active pharmaceutical ingredients
- C
Inert treatments work primarily through their physical chemical properties
- D
Expensive medications are always more effective than inexpensive ones
Explanation
Variations in price, color, and elaboration of inert treatments altering reported outcomes supports B. A contradicts the inertness; C and D ignore the placebo effect described.