In a weight-reduction experiment, an overweight individual was given what the researcher called a new type of diet pill that would help curb the desire to eat in fact. the pill really contained powdered milk, but ever since the individual started taking the diet pill, he has reported that his desire to eat has decreased. This illustrates the:

Correct answer: D. placebo effect

  • A. curvilinear relationship
  • B. effect of extraneous variables
  • C. natural experiment
  • D. placebo effect

Explanation

The improvement followed an inert substance presented as an effective diet pill, so the expectation of benefit produced the reported change. This expectancy-based response is the placebo effect, not a real drug effect.

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