Trial reportScientific reports2021
Open-label placebo treatment to improve relaxation training effects in healthy psychology students: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of open-label placebos across populations and outcomes: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- The role of expectations and tailored feedback on the open-label Placebo effect.Journal of health psychology · 2026Trial
- A randomized trial that compared brain activity, efficacy and plausibility of open-label placebo treatment and cognitive repappraisal for reducing emotional distress.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Transitioning from deceptive to nondeceptive placebo treatment to reduce pathological skin-picking.Discover mental health · 2025Article
- Effects of Open-Label Placebos on Visual Food Cue Reactivity in Children and Adolescents.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Placebo Effects on the Enjoyment of Physical Activity and Performance among Kindergarten Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2024Article
- Would You Take an Open-Label Placebo Pill or Give One to Your Child? Findings from a Cross-Sectional Survey.Psychology research and behavior management · 2024Article
- Non-Deceptive Placebos Can Promote Acts of Kindness: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Open-label placebos as adjunctive therapy for patients with depression.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2022Article
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
Placebos, that are administered with deception, can reduce stress and increase relaxation. The present study investigated an open-label placebo (OLP) to improve the effects of Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) training. A total of 160 psychology students were randomly assigned to a 14-day PMR course with or without daily OLP treatment. The placebo was administered along with an explanation of placebo effects and the verbal suggestion that the OLP activates the body's natural relaxation response. The relaxation instructions for home practice were delivered via a smartphone app, which was also used for the evaluation of the exercises. The participants of the OLP group completed more PMR exercises (M = 9.75) than the group without a placebo (M = 8.15). The two groups did not differ in reported exercise-related changes in relaxation level. On average, the OLP group rated the effects of the placebo as very low and was characterized by a higher drop-out rate compared to the group without OLP. Some participants experienced the OLP as negative. In conclusion, factors that influence the acceptance of OLP treatment require further investigation.
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.