Alcohol and Placebo: The Role of Expectations and Social Influence

In this study, we successfully demonstrate the expectation-induced classical placebo effe ct in the misinformed participants who were, in fact, consuming non-alcoholic drinks. The “social” alcohol consumption further enhances the true or believed effects of the alcohol, and thus the participants reported their subjective feelings in lines with their manipulated expectations. As regar ds the effect of the alcohol, therefore, many other factors contribute in addition to the alcohol itself, the most important of which seem to be group effect, suggestions and expectations.
Source: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction - Category: Addiction Source Type: research