Why and How Is the Brain Fooled by the Placebo Effect Essay

â€Å"The more you think of an imaginary problem, the more you feel as though it’s real.† (Panova) Our brain is known to work in mysterious ways, and the placebo effect acts is a prime example of exactly that. The concept of this phenomenon is known to confuse the average person, but it should not. Nevertheless, those unaware of it are still affected on a regular basis. In fact, every time a pill is taken, half of its power comes from just thinking and expecting it to work. All humans are gullible, each to a certain extent. Even the most clever individuals would succomb to the sheer power of placebos in, for example, a life-or-death situation. The placebo effect fools our brain effectively because of the trust we put into doctors and medicine,†¦show more content†¦The majority of the people in the group with valid medicine were healed. Surprisingly, around 379 people were cured by the placebo effect alone (Beecher). There is a distinct difference between the ef fects of medicine given to you by certified doctors and medicine given to you by your co-workers. Extravagant credentials at the beginning of a name or a convincing advertisement of a pill is all it takes for the placebo effect to break through our defenses. Another reason for why our brains are so easily fooled by the placebo effect is the feeling of safety, which makes us believe that the placebo effect cured our issues. To illustrate, a child is hit in the shin with a baseball, hard. His friend, who accidentally kicked the ball with too much force, excuses himself, but goes back to playing, leaving the sobbing victim alone. His favorite teacher sees what is going on and goes over to the child. She tells him that everything will be fine, that his injury is just a bruise, and that she will guide him to the nurse. The victim suddenly feels safer as a result of the social support he received from the teacher. He nearly forgets about his pain and smiles as he limps towards the nurse’s office (Humphrey). This is a fantastic example of how social support can lead to the placebo effect. Physically, there were no major changes in the condition of the child’s shin from when his friend apologized to when hisShow MoreRelated_x000C_I ntroduction to Statistics and Data Analysis355457 Words   |  1422 PagesExperimental Design 51 2.5 More on Observational Studies: Designing Surveys (Optional) 56 2.6 Interpreting and Communicating the Results of Statistical Analyses 61 Activity 2.1 Designing a Sampling Plan 63 Activity 2.2 An Experiment to Test for the Stroop Effect 64 Activity 2.3 McDonald’s and the Next 100 Billion Burgers 64 Activity 2.4 Video Games and Pain Management 65 Graphing Calculator Explorations 69 3 Graphical Methods for Describing Data 75 3.1 Displaying Categorical Data: Comparative BarRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesrelevancy should attract readers. Stanley Baronett. Jr., University of Nevada Las Vegas Far too many authors of contemporary texts in informal logic – keeping an eye on the sorts of arguments found in books on formal logic – forget, or underplay, how much of our daily reasoning is concerned not with arguments leading to truth-valued conclusions but with making choices, assessing reasons, seeking advice, etc. Dowden gets the balance and the emphasis right. Norman Swartz, Simon Fraser University Read MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesRating Scale 166 Comparison Data 166 Source of Personal Stress 166 3 SOLVING PROBLEMS ANALYTICALLY AND CREATIVELY 167 SKILL ASSESSMENT 168 Diagnostic Surveys for Creative Problem Solving 168 Problem Solving, Creativity, and Innovation 168 How Creative Are You ? 169 Innovative Attitude Scale 171 Creative Style Assessment 172 SKILL LEARNING 174 Problem Solving, Creativity, and Innovation 174 Steps in Analytical Problem Solving 174 Defining the Problem 174 Generating Alternatives 176 EvaluatingRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pagesunsuccessful practices are not unique. Information Boxes and Issue Boxes are included in each chapter to highlight relevant concepts and issues, or related information, and we are even testing Profile Boxes. Learning insights help students see how certain practices—both errors and successes—cross company lines and are prone to be either traps for the unwary or success modes. Discussion Questions and Hands-On Exercises encourage and stimulate student involvement. A recent pedagogical feature