Abstract

ROCHA, Margarette Matesco; DEL PRETTE, Zilda A. P.  and  DEL PRETTE, Almir. Placebo in psychological research: conceptual, ethical and methodological issues. Rev. bras.ter. cogn. [online]. 2008, vol.4, n.2, pp. 39-55. ISSN 1808-5687.

The use of placebos has a broad tradition in the medical and pharmacological sciences as a way to evaluate the effectiveness of procedures and medicines. The transposition of this concept to Psychology is pervaded of conceptual, methodological and ethical problems, some of which are also applied to other scientific areas. Considering the lack of national references on the use placebo in Psychology, the present essay aimed to: (a) make a brief revision of studies that focused on the use of placebos in scientific research; (b) discuss some conceptual problems pertinent to the use of placebos in psychological research; (c) present some of the main methodological problems and ethical issues related to the use of placebos and present some recommendations proposed to overcome them. Some implications of the use the concept of placebo in Psychology are discussed, as well as the need to investigate its mechanisms or usual factors and the combination of these mechanisms with those considered characteristic of a particular form of treatment

Keywords : Placebo; Internal validity; Evidence-based intervention.

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