Taking Open Label Placebo Further: Trial of Imaginary Pills in Test Anxiety

  • STATUS
    Recruiting
  • participants needed
    165
  • sponsor
    University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
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Updated on 16 February 2024
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Summary

Employing imaginary pills could offer a new way of investigating underlying mechanisms of open label placebo (OLP) treatment by eliminating the physical treatment constituent (i.e., the pill itself). This can reveal the power of the purely psychological component of a placebo and gives insights into underlying mechanisms of placebo effects. The aim of the project is to assess possible effects of an imaginary pill in comparison to no treatment, and open label placebo treatment in subjects with test anxiety.

Interventions (seven to three weeks before the exam) will be held online using a video Chat application such as zoom (https://zoom.us/) or skype (https://www.skype.com/de/) or will take place at the division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Basel (Missionsstrasse 62, 4055 Basel).

Details
Condition Test Anxiety
Age 18years - 65years
Treatment information about "No treatment group", imaginary pill technique, open label placebo
Clinical Study IdentifierNCT04250571
SponsorUniversity Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
Last Modified on16 February 2024

Eligibility

 Yes No Not Sure

Inclusion Criteria

Having an exam at the end of the semester, that is still at least four weeks ahead
Self-reported fear of the exam (i.e., not clinical)
Healthy by self-report statement (i.e., no known current or chronic somatic diseases or psychiatric disorders)
Willing to participate in study

Exclusion Criteria

Any acute or chronic disease (chronic pain, hypertension, heart disease, renal disease, liver disease, diabetes)
Current medications (psychoactive medication, narcotics, intake of analgesics)
Any psychiatric disorders or being currently in psychological or psychiatric treatment
Insufficient German language skills to understand the instructions
Daily consumption of more than three alcoholic standard beverages (a standard alcoholic beverage is defined as either 3dl beer or 1 dl wine or 2cl spirits)
Current or regular drug consumption
Being a master student in Psychology
Allergy of one of the ingredients of the placebo pills (P-Dragees blue Lichtenstein)
Problems to swallow pills
Clear my responses
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