Is Pain Contagious? Innocuous Stimulation Can be Transformed Into the Pain Experience by Observational Learning

Buglewicz-Przewoźnik, Ewa; Adamczyk, Wacław M.; Bąbel, Przemysław

doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2022.07.015

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Results of two studies suggest that neither participants’ social conformity ( Bajcar et al, 2020 ; Buglewicz-Przewoźnik et al, 2022 ), nor their tendency to yield social influence ( Bajcar et al, 2020 ) seemed to be associated to the magnitude of OL-induced analgesia and allodynia.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The placebo and nocebo treatments applied, respectively, can be found in Table 1 . Please note that Buglewicz-Przewoźnik et al (2022) did not include a treatment but that the observation itself induced an allodynic effect.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The nine studies investigating observational learning in person (OLp) were conducted either in experimental settings ( Colloca and Benedetti, 2009 ; Swider and Babel, 2013 ; Świder and Bąbel, 2016 ; Bajcar et al, 2020 ; Buglewicz-Przewoźnik et al, 2022 ) or in clinical settings like waiting areas ( Faasse et al, 2015 , 2017 , 2018 ) and doctors’ rooms ( Schwartz et al, 2022a ). Participants observed a sham participant undergoing an experiment in which they later participated themselves or they met a sham patient who reported on his or her symptoms or well-being.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They found that for both female and male observers, the nocebo effect was more pronounced when a male model was observed compared to a female model. Based on this finding, several subsequent OL studies chose male instead of female models ( Buglewicz-Przewoźnik et al, 2022 ). On the other hand, Faasse et al (2018) showed that participants (regardless of gender) were significantly more likely to show objectively measurable side effects (heart rate, blood pressure) after observing a female rather than a male model, even if the overall response to social modelling did not differ significantly.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Diverging results related to the respective presentation mode were found by Hunter et al (2014) , who report stable effects in the OLv but a trend to extinction in OLp. Buglewicz-Przewoźnik et al (2022) integrated experimental groups that differed in time between observation and stimulus presentation (several minutes) to test the influence of time on observationally induced effects but found no significant differences between the groups. Moreover, they found that observation prevented habituation to repeated stimulus presentations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Learning by observing: a systematic exploration of modulatory factors and the impact of observationally induced placebo and nocebo effects on treatment outcomes

Klauß,

Kunkel,

Müßgens

et al. 2024

Front. Psychol.

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IntroductionObservational learning (OL) refers to learning through observing other people’s behavior. OL has been suggested as an effective and simple tool to evoke treatment expectations and corresponding placebo and nocebo effects. However, the exact mechanisms by which OL shapes treatment outcomes, its moderating factors and possible areas of application remain unclear. We thus reviewed the existing literature with two different literature searches to answer the following questions: Which influencing factors contribute to OL-induced placebo and nocebo effects (in healthy volunteers and patients) and how large are these effects (search 1)? In which medical fields has OL been used so far to modulate treatment expectancy and treatment outcomes in patients, their caregivers, and at-risk groups (search 2)? We also aimed to explore whether and how the assessment of treatment expectations has been incorporated.MethodsWe conducted two independent and comprehensive systematic literature searches, both carried out on September 20, 2022.ResultsWe identified 21 studies that investigated OL-mediated placebo and nocebo effects for pain and itch, the (placebo) efficacy of sham treatment on anxiety, and the (nocebo) induction of medication side effects (search 1). Studies showed that OL can efficiently induce placebo and nocebo effects across different presentation modes, with medium effect sizes on average: placebo effects, d = 0.79 (range: d = −0.36–1.58), nocebo effects, d = 0.61 (range: d = 0.04–1.5). Although several moderating factors have been investigated, their contribution to OL-induced effects remains unclear because of inconsistent results. Treatment expectation was assessed in only four studies. Regarding medical applications of OL (search 2), we found 12 studies. They showed that OL was effectively applied in preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitative interventions and that it was mainly used in the field of psychosomatics.DiscussionOL effects on treatment outcomes can be both positive and negative. Future research should investigate which individuals would benefit most from OL and how OL can be implemented most effectively to induce placebo and avoid nocebo effects in clinical settings.Systematic review registrationThis work was preregistered at the Center for Open Science as open-ended registration (doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/FVHKE). The protocol can be found here: https://archive.org/details/osf-registrations-fvhke-v1.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%