AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Thus, a placebo is not the inert substance alone, but rather its administration within a set of sensory and social stimuli that tell the patient that a beneficial treatment is being given. Indeed, a placebo is the whole ritual of the therapeutic act.

Detailed explanation-2: -(pluh-SEE-boh) An inactive substance or other intervention that looks the same as, and is given the same way as, an active drug or treatment being tested. The effects of the active drug or other intervention are compared to the effects of the placebo.

Detailed explanation-3: -A placebo is any treatment that has no active properties, such as a sugar pill. There are many clinical trials where a person who has taken the placebo instead of the active treatment has reported an improvement in symptoms.