Dan Ariely - Why Do Placebos Work?

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2008/03/04/Dan_Ariely_Predictably_Irrational

MIT Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely discusses the medical effectiveness of placebos, and outlines how expectations of a given situation will affect our experiences of that situation.

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Dan Airely talks about "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions."

Why do our headaches persist after taking a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a 50-cent aspirin? Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup? We think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we?

In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities. Predictably Irrational will change the way we interact with the world - one small decision at a time - Cody's Books

Dan Ariely is the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT, where he holds a joint appointment between MIT's Media Laboratory and the Sloan School of Management. His work has been featured in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Scientific American, and Science.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• placebo
• medical
• medicine
• doctors
• pill
• pills
• research
• psychology
• reason
• logic
• logical
• belief
• believing
• economics
• foratv
• fora.tv
• fora
• tv

[jiggakilla666]

I sold fake weed to a guy and he said he got high.

[SoulsForPaper]

Pretty sure the accent is Israeli. Hebrew.

[PierreaSweedieCat]

Well, then, how come there are so many people on real drugs, who never get well? I know a lady who's gone through every test there is, has been under treatment for 8 mos. She's no chicken or idiot. Heck, she'd be a good Vulcan. The pain is still there, the leg swelling etc. symptoms still there. The treatments? $60 a pop. Instead of Chemo, we should treat cancer patients with sugar water. We could charge the same, and doctors & medical corporations could make a fortune!

[DeannaVivienmv445]

also einzige deutsche hier

[JustSomePerson888]

do they actually work though, or do people just think they worked or feel like they worked?

what if people just say what they think they are supposed to say, as most folks seem locked in those patterns - the usual, 'i better not say it's that cause that will mean xyz happens, so i'll just tell them what they want to hear' - like if you apply for a fake job and pretend to like the company etc, it's all bs cause they are all bs to begin with.

[5t3v3l19ht]

1 Person has no human characteristics.

[JackBresler]

@SoulsForPaper good guess



[Thewolf421]

This one time, one of my friends kept complaining of a terrible headache, so I took this as an opportunity to try out the Placebo effect, so I clenched his neck in a few random ways (That I knew would have no effect on him) and I told him it was an old remedy, he believed me and his headache went away.

[thinkandycohen]

Dan raises the question on how our expectations effect our outcomes and the application of this knowledge to the pricing of medicine and services.

[bossoholic]

Say its worth $800 but sell it at a "discount" for a special price of $30. Same expensive effect at a cheaper price

[alinerbeaner]

@AzNDraGoN4594 try danarielydotcom or either of his two books

[AzNDraGoN4594]

I'm quite interested in this author and subject. Are they any other recommended reads?