Construct · 1 fields · 4 citations

nocebo effect: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · a standalone construct Nearest construct by meaningplacebocompare the meanings
How to read this

Every construct on the map is compared with every other by the meaning of its definitions, and the closest one is surfaced here. The nearest construct to nocebo effect is placebo.

Hold this as a prompt, not a verdict. Two constructs sitting close in meaning is a reason to read them side by side and decide for yourself whether they are one idea under two names. It is not proof that they are. Compare the meanings in the Collider.

noceboeffect1 CONSTRUCTNocebo effectKENNEDY · NOCEBO

A single standalone construct; nearby constructs are located against it in the Collider. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

Medicine and psychology

The adverse effect produced by negative expectation of an inert treatment

The physician Walter P. Kennedy coined the term nocebo (Latin for "I shall harm") in 1961 to name the counterpart of the placebo response: a harmful or unpleasant symptom produced not by an active drug but by a person's negative expectation of an inert or sham treatment. Later experimental work, notably by Fabrizio Benedetti and colleagues, traced its mechanisms and showed that verbal suggestions of worsening can trigger measurable increases in pain and anxiety mediated by cholecystokinin and stress-hormone pathways. In clinical practice the effect appears when patients report side effects after being warned of them, or after taking a placebo, and it can contribute to treatment dropout and to symptoms mistakenly attributed to a medicine. As a construct it is distinctive because it isolates the causal role of expectation and context, rather than pharmacology, in producing adverse outcomes, which is why it recurs as a reference point in research on the placebo response, informed consent, and the wording of clinical communication.[1][2][3][4]

Unit
An expectation-induced adverse symptom or worsening following an inert, sham, or merely anticipated treatment
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Operationalised as adverse symptoms, or heightened pain and anxiety, reported after a sham treatment or a negative verbal suggestion, typically compared against a neutral control condition

Next

Run it through the Collider, or take the citations with you.

See how nocebo effect sits against neighbouring constructs in the Collider, or export every reference on this page in one click.

Open in ColliderExport BibTeXReport this entry

Nearby constructs

placebo2 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, two constructsbeing3 fields · 3 citationsjingle · one word, three constructsconsent6 fields · 14 citationsjingle · one name, six constructs

References

  1. Kennedy, W. P. (1961). The nocebo reaction. Medical World, 95, 203–205.
  2. Benedetti, F., Lanotte, M., Lopiano, L., & Colloca, L. (2007). When words are painful: Unraveling the mechanisms of the nocebo effect. Neuroscience, 147(2), 260–271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2007.02.020
  3. Colloca, L., & Miller, F. G. (2011). The nocebo effect and its relevance for clinical practice. Psychosomatic Medicine, 73(7), 598–603. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e3182294a50
  4. Häuser, W., Hansen, E., & Enck, P. (2012). Nocebo phenomena in medicine: Their relevance in everyday clinical practice. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, 109(26), 459–465. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2012.0459

Cited on this page?

Confirm your construct, or correct us.

If your work is cited behind one of these entries, you know better than we do whether we captured the meaning right. Confirm it, suggest an edit, or dispute it, and your name goes on the entry as an author who has checked it, linked to your ORCID.

Claim your construct