Expensive seems better: The price of a non-effective drug modulates its perceived efficacy
Abstract Previous studies have shown that the price of a given product impacts the perceived quality of such product. This finding was also observed in medical contexts, showing that expensive drugs increase the placebo effect compared to inexpensive ones. However, addressing a drug's efficacy...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Cognitive Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-023-00463-4 |
| _version_ | 1811176016195878912 |
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| author | Marcos Díaz-Lago Fernando Blanco Helena Matute |
| author_facet | Marcos Díaz-Lago Fernando Blanco Helena Matute |
| author_sort | Marcos Díaz-Lago |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Previous studies have shown that the price of a given product impacts the perceived quality of such product. This finding was also observed in medical contexts, showing that expensive drugs increase the placebo effect compared to inexpensive ones. However, addressing a drug's efficacy requires making causal inferences between the drug and the healing. These inferences rely on the contingency between these two events, a factor that is difficult to control in the placebo research. The present study aimed to test whether the price of a given drug modulates its perceived efficacy using a proper (though fictitious) non-effective drug, so that not only the objective contingency, but also the probability of the cause and the probability of the effect could be adequately controlled for. We expected higher efficacy judgements for the expensive non-effective drug than for the inexpensive one. To test this hypothesis, 60 volunteers participated in a contingency learning task that was programmed so that 72% of the patients healed regardless of whether they took the drug. Approximately one-half of the participants were told that the drug was expensive, whereas the other half were told that it was inexpensive. As expected, the efficacy judgements of participants who saw the expensive drug were significantly higher than those who saw the inexpensive one. Overall, our results showed that the price of a non-effective drug modulates its perceived efficacy, an effect that seems to be mediated by the estimated number of doses administered. This result parallels findings in the placebo literature but using a laboratory methodology that allows stronger control of the variables, suggesting that the illusory overestimation produced by the more expensive treatments might be on the basis of the greater efficacy of the more expensive placebos. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:45:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55cc1057190d484b92784ae6531d1819 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2365-7464 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:45:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cognitive Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-55cc1057190d484b92784ae6531d18192023-01-29T12:02:21ZengSpringerOpenCognitive Research2365-74642023-01-01811910.1186/s41235-023-00463-4Expensive seems better: The price of a non-effective drug modulates its perceived efficacyMarcos Díaz-Lago0Fernando Blanco1Helena Matute2Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de DeustoUniversidad de GranadaDepartamento de Psicología, Universidad de DeustoAbstract Previous studies have shown that the price of a given product impacts the perceived quality of such product. This finding was also observed in medical contexts, showing that expensive drugs increase the placebo effect compared to inexpensive ones. However, addressing a drug's efficacy requires making causal inferences between the drug and the healing. These inferences rely on the contingency between these two events, a factor that is difficult to control in the placebo research. The present study aimed to test whether the price of a given drug modulates its perceived efficacy using a proper (though fictitious) non-effective drug, so that not only the objective contingency, but also the probability of the cause and the probability of the effect could be adequately controlled for. We expected higher efficacy judgements for the expensive non-effective drug than for the inexpensive one. To test this hypothesis, 60 volunteers participated in a contingency learning task that was programmed so that 72% of the patients healed regardless of whether they took the drug. Approximately one-half of the participants were told that the drug was expensive, whereas the other half were told that it was inexpensive. As expected, the efficacy judgements of participants who saw the expensive drug were significantly higher than those who saw the inexpensive one. Overall, our results showed that the price of a non-effective drug modulates its perceived efficacy, an effect that seems to be mediated by the estimated number of doses administered. This result parallels findings in the placebo literature but using a laboratory methodology that allows stronger control of the variables, suggesting that the illusory overestimation produced by the more expensive treatments might be on the basis of the greater efficacy of the more expensive placebos.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-023-00463-4Medical decision-makingIllusion of causalityPriceDrug efficacyAlternative medicines |
| spellingShingle | Marcos Díaz-Lago Fernando Blanco Helena Matute Expensive seems better: The price of a non-effective drug modulates its perceived efficacy Cognitive Research Medical decision-making Illusion of causality Price Drug efficacy Alternative medicines |
| title | Expensive seems better: The price of a non-effective drug modulates its perceived efficacy |
| title_full | Expensive seems better: The price of a non-effective drug modulates its perceived efficacy |
| title_fullStr | Expensive seems better: The price of a non-effective drug modulates its perceived efficacy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Expensive seems better: The price of a non-effective drug modulates its perceived efficacy |
| title_short | Expensive seems better: The price of a non-effective drug modulates its perceived efficacy |
| title_sort | expensive seems better the price of a non effective drug modulates its perceived efficacy |
| topic | Medical decision-making Illusion of causality Price Drug efficacy Alternative medicines |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-023-00463-4 |
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