ArticlePsychology & health2014
Adherence, expectations and the placebo response: why is good adherence to an inert treatment beneficial?
Article in Psychology & health, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Challenges Establishing the Efficacy of Exercise as an Antidepressant Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Control Group Responses in Exercise Randomised Controlled Trials.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2016Pooled it
- Quantifying the placebo effect in psychological outcomes of exercise training: a meta-analysis of randomized trials.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2015Pooled it
- A Psychometric Evaluation of the Stanford Expectations of Treatment Scale (SETS) in the Context of a Smoking Cessation Trial.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2022Trial
- Methylphenidate augmentation of escitalopram to enhance adherence to antidepressant treatment: a pilot randomized controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2021Trial
- Efficacy and Safety of Rimegepant for the Acute Treatment of Migraine in Adults of Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity: Post Hoc Analysis of Three Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trials.Neurology and therapy · 2026Article
- Post Hoc Analysis of Time to First and Sustained Improvement in Weekly Migraine Days Among Patients Receiving Preventive Treatment With Rimegepant 75 mg.Pain and therapy · 2026Article
- Article
- Time to first and sustained improvement in WOMAC domains among patients with osteoarthritis receiving tanezumab.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2022Article
- An Active Inference Approach to Dissecting Reasons for Nonadherence to Antidepressants.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2021Article
- Investigating Knowledge, Attitude, and Beliefs Regarding Placebo Interventions in Clinical Practice: A Comparative Study of Nursing and Medical University Students.Advances in medical education and practice · 2020Article
- How placebo characteristics can influence estimates of intervention effects in trials.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2018Article
- Cognitive factors predict medication adherence and asthma control in urban adolescents with asthma.Patient preference and adherence · 2018Article
- Treatment expectations but not preference affect outcome in a trial of CBT and exercise for pain.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe current study sought to better understand why good adherence to a placebo treatment has been reliably associated with health benefits. We proposed a model where initial expectations shape adherence, which then influences subsequent expectations that affect placebo response.
designSeventy-two participants were told that they were enrolling in a study of physical activity and memory, and were asked to increase their physical activity by 35% for two weeks (placebo treatment).
main outcome measuresAdherence to this physical activity target was measured by pedometer. Expectations and short-term memory (free recall) were assessed before and after physical activity.
resultsInitial expectations predicted adherence to physical activity (r = .27, p < .03), but adherence did not predict subsequent expectations (r = .06, p = .60). Testing a multi-step meditational model revealed that initial expectations predicted better memory even after controlling for adherence, subsequent expectations, baseline memory and gender (c' = 1.10, 95% CI = .46-1.74). Stronger expectations for memory improvement predicted better memory performance, but adherence and later expectations did not mediate this association.
conclusionsGood adherence to a placebo may reflect strong treatment expectations which may convey benefits by enhancing the non-specific effects of treatment.
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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.