Taking Open Label Placebo Further: Trial of Imaginary Pills in Test Anxiety
Test Anxiety
About this trial
This is an interventional basic science trial for Test Anxiety focused on measuring imaginary pills, open label placebo (OLP) treatment, placebo
Eligibility Criteria
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
Sites / Locations
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Experimental
Experimental
Experimental
No treatment group
Imaginary pill (IP) group
Open label placebo group
Participants will receive no pills and will be told that they are in the no treatment group
Participants will be instructed to take an imagined pill. This instruction consists of a procedure including five steps (i.e., identifying the IP sensitive problem, building trust/belief/reality of the IP, constructing a personally meaningful IP, taking the IP, suggestions for self-administering the IP in real life, and building adherence)
Participants will have the information that they are receiving inert pills (i.e. "P-Dragees", containing "Placebo")