Harnessing the placebo effect: Exploring the influence of physician characteristics on placebo response

Reports an error in "Harnessing the placebo effect: Exploring the influence of physician characteristics on placebo response" by Lauren C. Howe, J. Parker Goyer and Alia J. Crum (Health Psychology, 2017[Nov], Vol 36[11], 1074-1082). In the original article, changes were needed to clarify the timeframe over which allergic reactions were measured after the skin prick test (SPT) and the administration of the placebo cream, which was erroneously misrepresented in some cases being “0 to 6 minutes after cream application” when it should have stated “3 to 9 minutes after cream application.” Corrections have been made to reflect this in the “Analytic Strategy for Physiological Results” section and in Figures 2 and 3 and the Figure Notes that accompany them. An additional supplemental figure (Figure S7) has also been added to the supplemental material available online to further clarify the timing of measurements, both in terms of time post-SPT and time post-cream application. The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2017-10534-001). Objective: Research on placebo/nocebo effects suggests that expectations can influence treatment outcomes, but placebo/nocebo effects are not always evident. This research demonstrates that a provider’s social behavior moderates the effect of expectations on physiological outcomes. Methods: After inducing an allergic reaction in participants through a histamine skin prick test, a health care provider administered a cream with no active ingredients and set either positive expectations (cream will reduce reaction) or negative expectations (cream will increase reaction). The provider demonstrated either high or low warmth, or either high or low competence. Results: The impact of expectations on allergic response was enhanced when the provider acted both warmer and more competent and negated when the provider acted colder and less competent. Conclusion: This study suggests that placebo effects should be construed not as a nuisance variable with mysterious impact but instead as a psychological phenomenon that can be understood and harnessed to improve treatment outcomes

Transforming Water: Social Influence Moderates Psychological, Physiological, and Functional Response to a Placebo Product

This paper investigates how social influence can alter physiological, psychological, and functional responses to a placebo product and how such responses influence the ultimate endorsement of the product. Participants consumed a product, “AquaCharge Energy Water,” falsely-labeled as containing 200 mg of caffeine but which was actually plain spring water, in one of three conditions: a no social influence condition, a disconfirming social influence condition, and a confirming social influence condition. Results demonstrated that the effect of the product labeling on physiological alertness (systolic blood pressure), psychological alertness (self-reported alertness), functional alertness (cognitive interference), and product endorsement was moderated by social influence: participants experienced more subjective, physiological and functional alertness and stronger product endorsement when they consumed the product in the confirming social influence condition than when they consumed the product in the disconfirming social influence condition. These results suggest that social influence can alter subjective, physiological, and functional responses to a faux product, in this case transforming the effects of plain water

Highway increases concentrations of toxic metals in giant panda habitat

The Qinling panda subspecies (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis) is highly endangered with fewer than 350 individuals inhabiting the Qinling Mountains. Previous studies have indicated that giant pandas are exposed to heavy metals, and a possible source is vehicle emission. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Mn, Pb, Cr, Ni, Cd, Hg, and As in soil samples collected from sites along a major highway bisecting the panda's habitat were analyzed to investigate whether the highway was an important source of metal contamination. There were 11 sites along a 30-km stretch of the 108th National Highway, and at each site, soil samples were taken at four distances from the highway (0, 50, 100, and 300 m) and at three soil depths (0, 5, 10 cm). Concentrations of all metals except As exceeded background levels, and concentrations of Cu, Zn, Mn, Pb, and Cd decreased significantly with increasing distance from the highway. Geo-accumulation index indicated that topsoil next to the highway was moderately contaminated with Pb and Zn, whereas topsoil up to 300 m away from the highway was extremely contaminated with Cd. The potential ecological risk index demonstrated that this area was in a high degree of ecological hazards, which were also due to serious Cd contamination. And, the hazard quotient indicated that Cd, Pb, and Mn especially Cd could pose the health risk to giant pandas. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that the highway was the main source of Cd, Pb, and Zn and also put some influence on Mn. The study has confirmed that traffic does contaminate roadside soils and poses a potential threat to the health of pandas. This should not be ignored when the conservation and management of pandas is considered

Data from: Transforming water: social influence moderates psychological, physiological, and functional response to a placebo product

This paper investigates how social influence can alter physiological, psychological, and functional responses to a placebo product and how such responses influence the ultimate endorsement of the product. Participants consumed a product, "AquaCharge Energy Water," falsely-labeled as containing 200 mg of caffeine but which was actually plain spring water, in one of three conditions: a no social influence condition, a disconfirming social influence condition, and a confirming social influence condition. Results demonstrated that the effect of the product labeling on physiological alertness (systolic blood pressure), psychological alertness (self-reported alertness), functional alertness (cognitive interference), and product endorsement was moderated by social influence: participants experienced more subjective, physiological and functional alertness and stronger product endorsement when they consumed the product in the confirming social influence condition than when they consumed the product in the disconfirming social influence condition. These results suggest that social influence can alter subjective, physiological, and functional responses to a faux product, in this case transforming the effects of plain water

A scalable empathic-mindset intervention reduces group disparities in school suspensions

Suspensions remove students from the learning environment at high rates throughout the United States. Policy and theory highlight social groups that face disproportionately high suspension rates-racial-minoritized students, students with a prior suspension, and students with disabilities. We used an active placebo-controlled, longitudinal field experiment (Nteachers = 66, Nstudents = 5822) to test a scalable "empathic-mindset" intervention, a 45- to 70-min online exercise to refocus middle school teachers on understanding and valuing the perspectives of students and on sustaining positive relationships even when students misbehave. In preregistered analyses, this exercise reduced suspension rates especially for Black and Hispanic students, cutting the racial disparity over the school year from 10.6 to 5.9 percentage points, a 45% reduction. Significant reductions were also observed for other groups of concern. Moreover, reductions persisted through the next year when students interacted with different teachers, suggesting that empathic treatment with even one teacher in a critical period can improve students' trajectories through school

Screenshot of the AquaCharge Energy Water website “The Buzz” page.

<p>The AquaCharge Energy Water website was designed specifically for the purposes of study by Gibbs Graphics. The website for the fictional product AquaCharge Energy Water was removed from the Internet after the study was complete. This website page and other pages (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0167121#pone.0167121.s002" target="_blank">S1 File</a>) are reprinted under a CC BY license, with permission from Gibbs Graphics, original copyright 2013.</p