• Wai-Lan YeungVictoriaVDepartment of Applied Psychology, Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong., Andrew L Geers, and Luana Colloca.
• Department of Applied Psychology, Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong.
• Ann Behav Med. 2020 Sep 1; 54 (9): 637-652.

BackgroundPlacebo analgesia studies generally reported that the actual use of a placebo analgesic reduces pain. Yeung, Geers, and Kam found that the mere possession (without use) of a placebo analgesic also reduces pain.PurposeWe investigated the relative effectiveness of using versus possessing a placebo analgesic on pain outcomes.MethodsIn Study 1a, 120 healthy adults were randomized to either the experimental (EXP) conditions (EXP1: used a placebo analgesic cream, EXP2: possessed a placebo analgesic cream) or control (CO) conditions (CO1: possessed a sham cream, CO2: no cream). All participants underwent a cold pressor test (CPT). Study 1b further delineated the effect of possession from the effect of use. Sixty healthy adults were randomized to either the placebo-possession condition (merely possessed a placebo analgesic cream) or the placebo-possession-use condition (possessed and used a placebo analgesic cream). All participants did a CPT.ResultsIn Study 1a, as expected, a placebo effect was found-participants who used a placebo analgesic cream showed better pain outcomes than the two CO groups. Surprisingly, participants who merely possessed a placebo analgesic cream performed equally well as those who actually used it. In Study 1b, participants in the two conditions did not differ in most pain outcomes. Participants who possessed and used a placebo analgesic cream only showed slightly more reduction in pain intensity compared to participants who merely possessed the placebo analgesic cream.ConclusionsOur results suggest that merely possessing a placebo analgesic could enhance pain outcomes similar to that of applying the placebo analgesic.© Society of Behavioral Medicine 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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