The Placebo Effect in Fiction

I love a good story that highlights the power of the placebo effect. Here is an internet definition of what takes place. 'The placebo effect occurs when a person's physical or mental health appears to improve after taking a dummy treatment.' In other words, our own brilliant brains are effective enough to implement change for the better when we think a positive development has occurred, even if we are totally mistaken. 

Here's a personal anecdote that proved it true to me beyond a doubt. At the MOD Museum in Adelaide, there was once an apparent pain threshold test that sent zaps of electricity through a handle to the palms of our hands. I'm no fan of pain, but challenged by my kids, I thought I'd give it a try. 'Ouch!' The first surge made me yell out and shake my tingling hand.

Then the same handle administered a soothing massage, complete with comforting, smiley emojis on the screen. The accompanying text informed us this was a special numbing effect to reduce the impact of the next zap. That promise was all that convinced me to keep holding on, and sure enough, the next electric shock was milder and easier to take in my stride. I indicated that in my feedback. And finally, more text scrolled down to tell us the supposed numbing effect was all a hoax, and the second electric shock was the exact same magnitude as the first. I, along with many other respondents experienced what they were really testing; the placebo effect. 

Well, that cemented my conviction that we should approach this phenomenon with a lot of respect. Whenever I hear stories of spontaneous healing or confidence building after some placebo effect, I'm not a bit surprised. The fascinating placebo effect has made its way into several stories, old and beloved alike. Since fiction is a mirror of the strange truth of reality, the following incidents are deeply encouraging as well as hugely entertaining. 

Here are a few I love.

1) Mister Meddle

I appreciate how Enid Blyton indirectly teaches her very youngest fans about the placebo effect. Mister Meddle is staying overnight at a guesthouse with his good friend. (His name escapes me, but it could well have been Jinks.) Meddle thinks the bedroom is horribly stuffy but Jinks feels chilly and argues against opening a window. The pair of them tussle in the darkness and accidentally smash a pane of glass. Meddle is gleeful that the sore point has been resolved in his favour. Jinks can't un-break that window, so Meddle jumps back into bed enjoying refreshing blasts of cool air. It takes the early morning light to reveal what really happened. The window is still closed, but the glass front of a bookcase is splintered. And the grinning Jinks realised that all along. (Next they'll have to argue about who pays the repair bill.)

2) Bless Me, Father series by Neil Boyd

I've barely given these great books a thought since I read them in my teens. Neil Boyd is a young Catholic curate who assists the senior Father Duddleswell. In one incident, they help cure a man who believes he's dying from a witch doctor's curse, and lies languishing in hospital. (The holy duo believe this guy is suffering from the negative counterpart of the placebo effect, which happens to be the nocebo effect. He will indeed die without intervention.) The patient already knows Father Duddleswell, so they dress young Father Neil up as vastly superior spiritual guru than the paltry witch doctor who inflicted the curse. He chants a string of supposed incantations to reverse the curse, and after plenty of solid improvisation, the stunt works. The patient gets out of bed believing himself to be fully cured, and resumes his former active lifestyle.

3) Harry Potter series

One of my favourite incidents takes place in The Half-Blood Prince. Ron Weasley has joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Everyone knows he occasionally shares his siblings' talent for the game, but suffers from crippling nerves and often crumples mid-match. Until the day he believes his best friend, Harry, added a few drops of felix felicis, or liquid luck, to his morning pumpkin juice. Ron scorches the court, leaves his Slytherin opponents gasping, and almost single-handedly wins a crucial match for his team. Only then does Harry admit he used no felix felicis at all. Ron's blistering performance was based solely on a wink and a flash of the bottle. 

4) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

L. Frank Baum gives us the all-time perfect incident here. The Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion long for brains, a kind heart and courage respectively. The little wizard is a complete fake, but he's clever and understands the power of suggestion. All it takes is a hastily scribbled Diploma, a testimonial of great altruism and a medal of bravery to satisfy the cravings of our awesome trio. These physical objects give the dormant traits permission to blossom. In fact, each member of the trio has been using these attributes all along, but only now do they give themselves permission to really own them. (I've reviewed it here.)

 

If you can think of any more, please let us know in the comments. Several years ago, I wrote this review of a fascinating book called You are the Placebo. It seems that knowing the placebo effect may come into play doesn't stop it working, and may even assist it, if that's what we expect to happen. Perhaps the belief that settling down with a good book, hot drink and purring cat is an excellent antidote to a stressful day may well be a placebo effect, but it's one I'm happy to keep buying into. 

Have you any examples of your own?