Reducing Emotional Distress with Open-Label Placebos: Assessing the Role of Motor Engagement in Pill Consumption.

ABSTRACT: It has been posited that ingesting a pill constitutes a pivotal action that facilitates the effects of open-label placebos (OLPs: placebos honestly prescribed). In the present OLP experiment, the motor components of a placebo treatment were systematically varied. The participants (n = 183) were randomly allocated to one of four groups that all viewed aversive pictures. The 'active OLP' group took a placebo pill with specific instructions concerning the sequence of motor actions for the intake. The 'usual OLP' group swallowed the pill (without specific motor instructions), while the third group received an 'imaginary OLP' (no pill intake). The fourth group applied cognitive reappraisal (CR; active control group) to reduce emotional distress. The participants rated their affective sta

SUBMITTER: Schienle A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11200763 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature