title: Capitalizing on the Placebo Component of Treatments.
abstract: A placebo treatment is traditionally administered in a double-blind randomized controlled trial to control for the "real" effects of the treatment under investigation. In the present article, a broader view of the placebo is proposed, one in which the idea of a potentially "useable" placebo component of a sports or exercise medicine treatment is presented. It is argued that many interventions in sport and exercise psychology might contain a placebo component that could be capitalized upon by practitioners through processes often as simple as communicating positive expectations from a treatment to clients. Research findings relating to factors that might influence an individual's response to a placebo, such as personality, situation, and genetics, are briefly addressed. Ethical considerations for practice and future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychology, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Wales, United Kingdom; and 2Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beedie
authors.forename: Abby
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Foad
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hurst
mesh_terms: D056352:Athletes / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D015990:Placebo Effect; D013178:Sports Medicine / Q000941:ethics; D013812:Therapeutics