The Placebo Effect - Essay Example

The placebo effect: an asset or a problem for sports psychology? Discuss 23/08/14 Sport psychology is mostly associated with placebo effect. Placebo is the mode in which a person is caused to perform a certain task faster by the use a stimulant. In sport psychology, placebo may refer to the use of a drug that may stimulate the performance of an individual. Sports have a long history and have been developing every day. Most of the sportsmen and women are nowadays taking various disciplines as a profession. They are making a lot of lively hood from sports. Considering the importance of sports in the society, there is a need to develop various psychological counselling as a profession that should be directed towards the sportspersons (Weinberg & Gould, 2010). According to Green, sports psychology was made for the instructors who train the sportspersons in physical activities (Green & Benjamin, 2009). The origin of the sports psychology was in Berlin Germany a psychology laboratory was first built (Cole, 2012). Dr. Carl Diem was the founder of this psychology laboratory in 1920 in the city of Berlin, Germany (Cole, 2012). Therefore, the European nation was the first to put into consideration of need of having a psychological field where the students could be coached. In the same country, Robert Werner came up with sports psychology school popularly known as the College of Physical Education. The College was also established in 1920, the year the psychology was established (Balague, 1999). The development of sports psychology continued to develop and in early 1925, Russia had begun to experiment it (Fuchs, 1998). In Russia, the experiment started in Moscow, and at the institutes of physical culture in Leningrad (Green & Benjamin, 2009). In the institutes, there was introduced a department that dealt with sports psychology, that is the departments of sports psychology (Green & Benjamin, 2009, p. 44). The introduction of the departments was done in the year 1930. Sports programs were not immediately formed until the historic Cold War that lasted from 1946 to 1989. That is the time some few programs in science were formed (Green C. D., 2009). There were development in sport psychology during this period when the cold war was going on due to military competitiveness especially between the United States of America and Russia (Cole, 2012). The competition motivated Russia to have the sports department so that the military could train and emerge with more medals than their competitors. The results of the competition made the United States of America to feel that they wanted to take more interest in sports development as they were beaten by their Soviet rivals (Heyman, 1982). They therefore begun to develop a lot of interest in the sports subject of psychology. The development of the sports psychology hereafter developed mostly in Russia and other countries in eastern Asia. The creation of sports institutes engineered the development of sports. When Griffith’s laboratory was closed in the 1960’s, little research ensured in the North America. A new achievement was established when a lot of babies were born. Most schools introduced departments of physical education (Gould & Pick, 1995). University and colleges joined suit by integrating in their systems courses of sport psychology and even went a notch higher to offer masters and PhD on the same. In 1970, the first scholarly journal appeared and was geared to address sports psychology. It was known as the ‘International Journal of Sports Psychology and was later followed by another one in 1979 that was known as the ‘Journal of Sports Psychology. Later in 1985, AAASP was formed, and the body sought to address issues on psychology by integrating sports and health. This body focused on research outside the laboratory. It was until 1984 that sports psychology was internationally initiated with the psychologists being part of the Olympic Games in the same year. However, they had a restriction as their assistance was limited during the actual competition. Sports psychology has been on the rise since then with statistics affirming that there is an explosion in the number of sports psychologists every year especially in the 1980s and 1990s (Fuchs, 1998). The number has risen and not only in Europe and America but the whole world has invested in sport psychology. One of the debates that revolves around the sports psychology is the placebo effect. ‘The placebo effect is a positive outcome of the belief that a beneficial treatment has been received’ (Beedie & Foad, 2009, p. 314). The placebo effect revolves around an artefact being controlled for and then studied independently using its rights. These steps have been deliberated from the three stages of Joseph McGuire that he proposed in 1969. Placebo effect is also the effect that is given to a player in the pitch as a form of treatment. Placebo is usually given as a way of controlling the occurrence of a disease to a player. In other words, it is a way of manipulating a player so that he or she does not suffer in the pitch (Beedie & Foad, 2009). When used in the psychological fields, it can be used to mean the psychological counsel that is usually given to a sportsman or woman so that he or she may feel confident enough before and during a competition. Placebos are also given to the athletes in order to relieve pain when a player gets hurt or when he or she is injured during the competition. The placebos in this case will include medicines in terms of tablets and also light surgery when the player is hurt (Benedetti & Amanzio, 2013). The purpose is mainly to reduce pain. In the recent scientific research, the scientists are looking into a way establishing a mechanism in which they can use to a patient who have deep pains from injuries including the mental injuries (Beedie & Foad, 2009). Placebo has been significant to sports performance and research in a number of ways. For instance, in sports performance, certain issues arise concerning what is believed of major importance to sport’s performance and whether efforts by sports psychology operate via placebo effect. Speculation exists relating to placebo the effect on whether nutritional ergogenic aids, drugs enhancing performance, ice baths and altitude training are as a result of the placebo effect or simply a physiological effect (Green & Benjamin, 2009). Coaches and sport leaders role in placebo effect is taken into consideration. Authors have a view that observations made in carbohydrate training, knee surgery and magnetic surgery among others are accounts of placebo effects. The placebo effect is modelled to placebo controlled trial that involves calculating an estimate of the true mean effect. The true mean effect is calculated by finding the difference of the mean effect observed in the placebo effect from the mean effect observed in the experimental condition. This approach considers several assumptions. The first assumption is that the placebo control is an ‘inactive’ condition. This assumption clearly outlines that even if the treatment doesn’t work better than a placebo doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t work, but would be a suggestion that the approach might be more physiological than biological. In the second assumption, placebo’s effects are always taken to be positive in direction (Hróbjartsson & Gøtzsche, 2010). In this assumption, provided the available placebo’s definition are considered positive outcome, it follows suit that the effects of individuals’ beliefs in the PCT are assumed to be positive. This however may not always be the case as some research have shown. For example, Beedie’s research in 2007 indicated that if subjects held negative effects about an intervention, the result may be different. This pokes a hole in the PCT’s validity. Placebo has presented a number of advantages and disadvantages alike. Placebo presents an advantage that its balanced design offers vast information that cannot be retrieved using conventional double-blind methods. Its comparison with relative conditions within the design helps in understanding of psychology and pharmacology contribution to the response to treatment (Benedetti & Amanzio, 2013). It also permits the understanding of placebo effect with consideration from non-specific effects. The assessment of the drug effect is made possible while the placebo effect is removed. Placebo effect is also advantageous to the patient as it allows the patient to healing without affecting their psychological thoughts. The reason to this advantage is that placebo is ones belief. Is a person had a fractured foot and the doctor says that the patient will have to rest for a period of one six months or one year, the patient will psychologically be prepared for that period (Benedetti & Amanzio, 2013). He or she will believe that after that period of time, he or she will return back to normal and will be able to participate in various games. Therefore, the patient do not undergo any psychological torture. The patient may sometimes develop a lot of reliance or the so-called over-reliance to the caregivers. They usually believe that everything the caregivers asks them will be right. They, therefore, have a lot of hope in the doctors who usually give them the treatment for their diseases. The approach that the patients have towards the doctors may be beneficial as well as disadvantageous. Believing that the doctors will give a good care to the patients gives an encouragement to the patients that they will be healed soon (Green & Benjamin, 2009). The patients who just believes in the doctors’ ability will normally heal faster without any difficulty. For the patients to be hopeful in doctors, the doctors are always confident in everything that they do regarding their duty in giving treatment to the patients. On the other hand, the patients may be very hopeful that they will get well within a reasonable short time or any other period that the doctors may have prescribed. When the healing fails to take place or if the patient fails to recover in time, they usually develop some psychological responses that are sometimes harmful and fatal. The patients’ condition at this time is referred to as the cloudy placebo effect. The patient grows worse and loses hope of getting well. It, therefore, calls for highly professionals to carry out some counselling to the patients that they may have hope for the future. Placebo effect does not necessarily entail taking the patient to the doctors to get treated. There are some situations that cannot be treated in the hospital. The patient may be suffering from psychological effects. He or she may need someone to talk to him or her and give him hope. The main idea is to give the patient the hope for the future (Beedie & Foad, 2009). The patient may also be losing focus on the main agenda to participate in a certain profession. Therefore, it is always good for professional counsellors and therapeutics to be well utilised in guiding patients and sportspersons so that they can remain focused in their professions. However, there exists some disadvantages in the study of the placebo effect. For instance, samples required for PCT require large sizes. The process is time-consuming. It also demands careful planning and piloting to achieve credibility in deception. Lastly, one must be able to justify deception. When it comes to ethics, and real life placebo has to apply. For instance, the participant’s brain can experience changes from a ritual of a therapeutic intervention. Anyone who possesses such power can influence the physiology of the person’s brain. When it comes to results, doctors may achieve effects (Koch, 2004). Quacks too can achieve some effects and this calls for evaluation between the two. Both possess a difference. Some questions arises and needs ethical approach. For instance, we cannot accept every method available to achieve placebo. In the study of placebo, research in this field can lead to exploitation of scientists in the wrong way. The research has also shown that placebo may lead to a negative consequence to the user or to the patient who in our case is the competitor or the sportsperson. While under several surgical and other medication, he or she may fail to succeed in the treatment resulting to what the professionals calls the nocebo effect (Gander, 2003). The effect causes a negative outcome to the patient and may result to permanent destruction of the person involved. When looked from this view, it is important to have the best knowledge of the placebo used as a way of treatment. It is also important to guide the person undergoing the treatment by the way of preparing his psychological understanding in order for him or her to have the knowledge of what could happen to him (Weiten, 2007). If the patient is now well psychological prepared, he or she could develop a tremor that may lead to permanent destruction. It is now the duty of the medical professionals who are interested in sports to have a better understanding of their subject in order to give them the perfect treatment ever in order to assist them to recover well. It is also good and wise to understand that the outcome of the placebo has a lot of effect on other players in the same sport or a different sport altogether. When a negative effect or the placebo fails, some of the sports professional may see sports as a dangerous profession and may offer to quit (Ross, 2003). Most of these athletes may have taken a lot of years and resources to develop their talent. It therefor means that when they do quit, the time, energy and resources that they used in training will never be recovered. In other words, these resources will automatically become a waste. Side effects suffered by the patients may also be part of the negative effects of placebos, nocebo. The negative effect may be, for example; the loss of the senses as players becomes so much used to pain killers. Most of the sports psychologist are keen to develop ways in which players can continue with their competitions without feeling any effect of pain. They, therefore, comes up with various ways in which the players may feel comfortable, even with injuries (Rotella & Cullen, 1995). Their laboratories are full of discoveries of pain relievers that makes a player to have an instant relieve when he or she takes them. Such relievers may result to a lot of side effects to the patient. He or she may develop pain that is not felt and may result to the cot death. They may also lead to breathing difficulties as they have now become poisonous to the users. That is, they do not use them in a way that is supposed to help them. Having been taken for a long time, the tablets may also turn to addiction by the user (Balague, 1999). That is, the user may not be able to play without using the pain killers (Newman, 1993). From the drug abuse point of view, anyone whose uses any drug without feeling sick is a drug abuser and a drug addict and therefore the sports fraternity may be using drugs for the wrong purpose. In another view, the sports psychologist have developed a positive note to the sports fraternity (Ogilvie & Tutko, 1966). Their research cannot all be accused but can also be praised. Their research that have led to the innovations of instant pain relievers have been highly helpful to the sportspersons. They make them feel comfortable in the field after they medicines are administered to them. They also help them to compete well in the field. If someone could be injured and lack an instant remedy, he or she could give a straight win to the opponent (Overholser, 2010). The win to the opponent could not have much meaning since he or she never had a stiff competitor. The sports psychologists have also come up with an interesting way to satisfy the needs of the sports fans. Most of the fans are usually attracted by different players in the ground. If different players keeps on missing from the action, some fans who usually pay a lot of money for tickets may not feel well (Skovholt & Starkey, 2010). The near instant remedy gives them hope that their popular player will be back in the pitch soon. Therefore, the game will continue to be enjoyable from every point of the fans view. The psychological sports research have also led to the development of a career. Most of the people who are interested in this field are making a living via serious research, and their success have led them to have a job that they use to earn a living. Jobs have also been created as most of the doctors and psychologist who are graduating from the universities are being absorbed into the sports field. The creation of such jobs have led to the eradication of poverty in many countries mostly the third world countries (Beedie & Foad, 2009). Talents have also been developed via this discoveries that have ensured the sportspersons continues with their training shortly after they have suffered an injury. There has been a recent development in this field as far as sports psychology is concerned. For players to compete well without injuries, there have been rules that have been set in order to minimise injuries. When the carelessness of a player causes an injury to an opponent, he or she may get fired from the pitch, or be penalised to play for a number of games and be fined some certain amount of money (Hunsley & Westmacott, 2007). The consequence of such behaviours is used to transmit a psychological warning that every time the players are supposed to compete on a fair play platform. Such a method and many others have been invented by the sports psychologists to ensure that sports remains a relevant event in peoples’ lives. From the discussion, placebo is largely an asset than a problem. 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