reverse placebo effects can also occur. That is, the erroneous belief that one is receiving an effective drug or treatment can exacerbate rather than relieve the patient’s symptoms. The explanation for this paradoxical result can be found in attribution theory, particularly as it is applied to emotional experience and self-labeling (Ross, Rodin, & Zimbardo, 1969; Valins & Nisbett, 1972). To the extent that negative symptoms persist in the face of a treatment that “ought” to bring relief, one may be inclined to attribute such persistence to the seriousness and intractability of whatever it is
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Compelling.
