ReviewJournal of general internal medicine2011
Determining whether a patient is feeling better: pitfalls from the science of human perception.
Review in Journal of general internal medicine, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of upper limb functional electrical stimulation after stroke for the improvement of activities of daily living and motor function: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- An In-Depth Analysis of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Treated With Different Anti-Viral Regimens.The American journal of gastroenterology · 2016Trial
- Releasing Forces in Adhesive Capsulitis Are Important Indicators of Shoulder Stiffness and Postoperative Function.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2025Article
- Post Hoc Bias in Treatment Decisions.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Article
- A Dose of Reality About Dose-Response Relationships.Journal of general internal medicine · 2023Review
- Patient Perspectives on Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose When not Using Insulin: a Cross-sectional Survey.Journal of general internal medicine · 2022Article
- Time pressure predicts decisional regret in men with localized prostate cancer: data from a longitudinal multicenter study.World journal of urology · 2021Article
- Mediterranean diet in axial spondyloarthritis: an observational study in an Italian monocentric cohort.Arthritis research & therapy · 2021Observational
- Association of socioeconomic status with medical assistance in dying: a case-control analysis.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Economic Theory and Medical Assistance in Dying.Applied health economics and health policy · 2021Article
- EVALUATE-AD and Tele-STAR: Novel Methodologies for Assessment of Caregiver Burden in a Telehealth Caregiver Intervention - A Case Study.Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders · 2019Article
- Manual therapists - Have you lost that loving feeling?!The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2018Article
- Spinal fusion in girls with Rett syndrome: post-operative recovery and family experiences.Child: care, health and development · 2015Article
- What Is the Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms and Pain During Functional Tasks in Persons Undergoing TKA? A 6-year Perioperative Cohort Study.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2015Article
- Experience of gastrostomy using a quality care framework: the example of rett syndrome.Medicine · 2014Article
- Can we test for hereditary cancer at 18 years when we start surveillance at 25? Patient reported outcomes.Familial cancer · 2013Article
- Modern medicine is neglecting road traffic crashes.PLoS medicine · 2013Article
- Observational
- Judging whether a patient is actually improving: more pitfalls from the science of human perception.Journal of general internal medicine · 2012Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Human perception is fallible and may lead patients to be inaccurate when judging whether their symptoms are improving with treatment. This article provides a narrative review of studies in psychology that describe misconceptions related to a patient's comprehension, recall, evaluation and expression. The specific misconceptions include the power of suggestion (placebo effects), desire for peace-of-mind (cognitive dissonance reduction), inconsistent standards (loss aversion), a flawed sense of time (duration neglect), limited perception (measurement error), declining sensitivity (Weber's law), an eagerness to please (social desirability bias), and subtle affirmation (personal control). An awareness of specific pitfalls might help clinicians avoid some mistakes when providing follow-up and interpreting changes in patient symptoms.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.