At 9:53 AM -0700 5/12/99, Tim Shearon wrote: >> Now that it has been shown that placebos can be just as effective as >>the experimental procedure,my question is how can a design be implemented >>to control for the placebo group? >> > >Michael- Did you sleep during research methods class. Placebo groups are >always required in studies involving drug research and have been standard >practice for about 60 or more years. The control group is called the >placebo group and receives a pill (etc.) resembling the one under >investigation but which contains an inert substance (often sugar). A >similar group is used in brain manipulation studies (called a sham control- >because they get a sham operation involving all the procedures except the >actual implant, lesion, etc). >Tim S. Michael's question was a _bit_ better than that. Recent studies on antidepressant drugs have shown that the placebo effect is an active one; subjects' can discriminate between drug and placebo based on discriminable side-effects of drugs. This has lead to the suggestion that we need _another_ control group which is given a drug which produces _only_ the side effects of the substance under investigation. Another approach is varying the instructions given to the subjects so that they (inaccurately) expect placedbo or drug. Ethical questions here. * PAUL K. BRANDON [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Psychology Department 507-389-6217 * * "The University formerly known as Mankato State" * * http://www.mankato.msus.edu/dept/psych/welcome.html *
