Putting the ‘Art’ Into the ‘Art of Medicine’: The Under-Explored Role of Artifacts in Placebo Studies
Research in social psychology demonstrates that physical environmental factors – or “artifacts” such as provider clothing and office décor – can influence health outcomes. However, the role of artifacts in augmenting or diminishing health outcomes is under-explored in the burgeoning discipline of pl...
| Published in: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-07-01
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01354/full |
| _version_ | 1856929228376768512 |
|---|---|
| author | Michael H. Bernstein Cosima Locher Cosima Locher Tobias Kube Tobias Kube Sarah Buergler Sif Stewart-Ferrer Charlotte Blease Charlotte Blease |
| author_facet | Michael H. Bernstein Cosima Locher Cosima Locher Tobias Kube Tobias Kube Sarah Buergler Sif Stewart-Ferrer Charlotte Blease Charlotte Blease |
| author_sort | Michael H. Bernstein |
| collection | DOAJ |
| container_title | Frontiers in Psychology |
| description | Research in social psychology demonstrates that physical environmental factors – or “artifacts” such as provider clothing and office décor – can influence health outcomes. However, the role of artifacts in augmenting or diminishing health outcomes is under-explored in the burgeoning discipline of placebo studies. In this paper, we argue that a careful consideration of artifacts may carry significant potential in informing how placebo effects can be maximized, and nocebo effects minimized in clinical settings. We discuss the potential mechanisms, including classical conditioning, response expectancy, and mindsets, by which artifacts might enhance or diminish these effects. Next, we propose testable hypotheses to investigate how placebo and nocebo effects might be elicited by artifacts in care settings, and conclude by providing innovative research designs to advance this novel research agendum. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e4b4e5ebeb884de1b85bffff88b83e89 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Journals |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| spelling | doaj-art-e4b4e5ebeb884de1b85bffff88b83e892025-08-19T20:13:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782020-07-011110.3389/fpsyg.2020.01354501754Putting the ‘Art’ Into the ‘Art of Medicine’: The Under-Explored Role of Artifacts in Placebo StudiesMichael H. Bernstein0Cosima Locher1Cosima Locher2Tobias Kube3Tobias Kube4Sarah Buergler5Sif Stewart-Ferrer6Charlotte Blease7Charlotte Blease8Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesSchool of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United KingdomDivision of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDivision of General Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesPain and Psychotherapy Research Lab, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau, GermanyDivision of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandResearch Unit of General Practice, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DenmarkDivision of General Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesSchool of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, IrelandResearch in social psychology demonstrates that physical environmental factors – or “artifacts” such as provider clothing and office décor – can influence health outcomes. However, the role of artifacts in augmenting or diminishing health outcomes is under-explored in the burgeoning discipline of placebo studies. In this paper, we argue that a careful consideration of artifacts may carry significant potential in informing how placebo effects can be maximized, and nocebo effects minimized in clinical settings. We discuss the potential mechanisms, including classical conditioning, response expectancy, and mindsets, by which artifacts might enhance or diminish these effects. Next, we propose testable hypotheses to investigate how placebo and nocebo effects might be elicited by artifacts in care settings, and conclude by providing innovative research designs to advance this novel research agendum.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01354/fullplaceboplacebo effectsexpectancymindsetpsychologyclassical conditioning |
| spellingShingle | Michael H. Bernstein Cosima Locher Cosima Locher Tobias Kube Tobias Kube Sarah Buergler Sif Stewart-Ferrer Charlotte Blease Charlotte Blease Putting the ‘Art’ Into the ‘Art of Medicine’: The Under-Explored Role of Artifacts in Placebo Studies placebo placebo effects expectancy mindset psychology classical conditioning |
| title | Putting the ‘Art’ Into the ‘Art of Medicine’: The Under-Explored Role of Artifacts in Placebo Studies |
| title_full | Putting the ‘Art’ Into the ‘Art of Medicine’: The Under-Explored Role of Artifacts in Placebo Studies |
| title_fullStr | Putting the ‘Art’ Into the ‘Art of Medicine’: The Under-Explored Role of Artifacts in Placebo Studies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Putting the ‘Art’ Into the ‘Art of Medicine’: The Under-Explored Role of Artifacts in Placebo Studies |
| title_short | Putting the ‘Art’ Into the ‘Art of Medicine’: The Under-Explored Role of Artifacts in Placebo Studies |
| title_sort | putting the art into the art of medicine the under explored role of artifacts in placebo studies |
| topic | placebo placebo effects expectancy mindset psychology classical conditioning |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01354/full |
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