Better an expensive placebo than a cheap one

When talking of medicine, a lot of people seem to forget about the placebo effect. An interesting study by Duke University now suggests that the cost attributed to the pill also is an important factor:

A 10-cent pill doesn't kill pain as well as a $2.50 pill, even when they are identical placebos, according to a provocative study by Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University.

... In the full-price group, 85 percent of subjects experienced a reduction in pain after taking the placebo. In the low-price group, 61 percent said the pain was less.