Reactions To Placebos

While reading the article on placebos I found quit a few things interesting. They did a study with the placebos which involved 82 men and women they gave each of these people electric shock to their wrist, before and after taking a pill. Half of the men and women read that the pill, discounted as a newly approved prescription pain reliever, was regularly priced at $2.50 per dose. The other half of the men and women read that it had been discounted to 10 cents. But in all actually, both were dummy pills. Amazingly the placebo had a strong effect on both groups. But 85 percent of those using the expensive pills reported a significant relief, compared with 61 percent on the cheaper pills. It also stated that the pill size and color also affected peoples perceptions of effectiveness. In one study people rated black and red capsules as "strongest" and white ones as "weakest". I find it amazing what our minds can control. Obviously we can make our selves better by thinking the expensive pills we are taking are curing our pain.