Effect of Gender on the Placebo Effect

Overview

Objectives/Goals Since I was little, I've had a growing interest in human psychology which therefore led me to wonder which gender the placebo effect impacts most. In my science fair project titled "Effect of Gender on the Placebo Effect" I decided to scientifically investigate whether males or females have a stronger reaction to the mind trickery in which the placebo effect possesses. Methods/Materials In my study I purchased two jugs of the same brand lemonade and gathered a group of ten males and ten females to test which of then genders was more prone to being impacted as a result of the placebo effect. The brand of lemonade and cups that I used include Newman's Own and three ounce Dixie Cups. Results After finishing my experiment my results turned out to be that males are more impacted by the placebo effect than females. These results prove that in medicine the placebo effect should be used on males more than females. Also these results show how affective the placebo effect is because only two people out of twenty weren't affected by the placebo effect. Conclusions/Discussion In conclusion, the placebo effect is a vital form of medicine to everyone, and according to my results mostly males. My hypothesis was indeed correct, so therefore I can finally conclude that the placebo effect doesn't work as well on females. As I worked on my study, I began to wonder if patients don't believe in placebos, will the sham still be affective? How does this change the results of a placebo's typical outcome. This topic is something that I would enjoy further investigating and researching on in another study.

Competition history

• CSEF 2010 Behavioral & Social Sciences · Entry J0310

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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