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Reconsidering the role of personality in placebo effects: Dispositional optimism, situational expectations, and the placebo response
Abstract
Objective Prior investigations have failed to find reliable personality differences in placebo responding. The present study tests the hypothesis that personality and situational variables interact to determine placebo responding.Methods Optimists and pessimists were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. In the first condition, the participants were told that they were to ingest a pill that would make them feel unpleasant (deceptive-expectation group). In the second condition, the participants were told that they were to ingest a pill that would make them feel either unpleasant or was an inactive substance (conditional-expectation group). Finally, a third group was told they were to ingest a pill that was inactive (control group).Results Pessimists were more likely than optimists to follow a negative-placebo expectation when given a deceptive expectation, but not when given a conditional expectation.Conclusion The personality variable optimism-pessimism relates to placebo responding when individuals are given a deceptive but not a conditional expectation. This suggests that personality and situational variables interact to determine placebo responding.
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“The experience of pain results from both sensory input and psychological variables such as personality traits and anxiety level1–5.”
From Boundary effects of expectation in human pain perception (2019) · cites this paper as [2]
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“Our interest in individual differences was motivated by our own and others’ findings that the experience of pain is strongly affected by other psychological variables such as optimism, anxiety, suggestibility, and reward responsiveness1–5.”
From Boundary effects of expectation in human pain perception (2019) · cites this paper as [2]
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“These findings well fit with the notion that optimism and anxiety modulate nocebo, as well as placebo, responses12252641.”
From Changes in perception of treatment efficacy are associated to the magnitude of the nocebo effect and to personality traits (2016) · cites this paper as [25]
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“Geers and colleagues25 found that when participants were told that a pill would have made them feel unpleasant, pessimists were more likely than optimists to report the expected negative symptoms.”
From Changes in perception of treatment efficacy are associated to the magnitude of the nocebo effect and to personality traits (2016) · cites this paper as [25]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Geers, A. L., Helfer, S. G., Kosbab, K., Weiland, P. E., & Landry, S. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Toledo (US)
- Adrian College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Geers, Andrew L.
- ORCID
- Geers, Andrew L.
- Venue
- Journal of Psychosomatic Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005-02
- Volume
- 58
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 121-127
- ISSN
- 0022-3999 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2076911676
- Cited by
- 225
- References
- 95
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 3.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Psychosomatic Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- placebo effect, personality, dispositional optimism, pessimism, conditional expectation, placebo response
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Affect, Attitude, Female, Humans, Male, Personality, Personality Tests, Placebos, Surveys and Questionnaires, Placebo Effect
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