The idea of a placebo effect was discussed in 18th century psychology,Schwarz, K. A., & Pfister, R.: Scientific psychology in the 18th century: a historical rediscovery. In: Perspectives on Psychological Science, Nr. 11, pp. 399–407. but became more prominent in the 20th century. Modern studies find that placebos can affect some outcomes such as pain and nausea, but otherwise do not generally have important clinical effects. Improvements that patients experience after being treated with a placebo can also be due to unrelated factors, such as regression to the mean (a statistical effect where an unusually high or low measurement is likely to be followed by a less extreme one). The use of placebos in clinical medicine raises ethical concerns, especially if they are disguised as an active treatment, as this introduces dishonesty into the doctor–patient relationship and bypasses informed consent.
The idea of a placebo effect was discussed in 18th century psychologySchwarz K A & Pfister R Scientific psychology in the 18th century a historical rediscovery In Perspectives on Psychological Science Nr 11 pp 399–407 but became more prominent in the 20th century Modern studies find that placebos can affect some outcomes such as pain and nausea but otherwise do not generally have important clinical effects Improvements that patients experience after being treated with a placebo can also be due to unrelated factors such as regression to the mean (a statistical effect where an unusually high or low measurement is likely to be followed by a less extreme one) The use of placebos in clinical medicine raises ethical concerns especially if they are disguised as an active treatment as this introduces dishonesty into the doctor–patient relationship and bypasses informed consent