Study finds placebo effect also applies to exercise training
Apr 2023, phys.org
Personal trainer, is that you?
"If you believe that the training program you are following has been optimized for you, that in itself will have an effect, regardless of the content of the program. It is exactly the same as the placebo effect we know from medicine. ... The placebo effect has been studied for over 70 years, but looking at it in the context of exercise research is new."
Interesting to think about this in terms of recommendation algorithms -- a term which encompasses pretty much all the consumer-facing artificial intelligence that's been available to the masses up until the explosion of generative-AI like GPT or Stable Diffusion. Recommendation algorithms, like so much consumer technologies, don't actually work as well as they're marketed to work. But they do convincingly present to us the illusion of personal customization -- this thing knows who you are, what you do and what you like, and it can give you things that even your most intimate of social partners don't know you want.
Recommendation algorithms inherently benefit from this phenomenon, and so we should be even more critical when assessing their utility, and especially when comparing that utility to the harms it inflicts, like personal data harvesting and surveillance.
via University of Agder in Norway: Kolbjørn Lindberg et al, The effects of being told you are in the intervention group on training results: a pilot study, Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29141-7
Study finds people who use alternative medicine favor risk and novelty, and distrust science
Sep 2023, phys.org
"Susceptible to persuasion, and skeptical of science" (the ultimate recipe for disaster)Researchers found that 1,492 Canadians ages 16 and over who access alternative health-care therapies where the proven benefits do not justify the risks involved tend to be wealthier, like novelty and taking risks, and are also more likely to distrust conventional medicine.
via University of British Columbia School of Nursing and the University of Alberta Health Law Institute: Bernie Garrett et al, Demographic and psychometric predictors associated with engagement in risk-associated alternative healthcare behaviours, PLOS ONE (2023). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291016
Belief in manifesting financial success leads to risky investments and bankruptcy, says study
Sep 2023, phys.org
Not only did they creating a "manifestation scale", but it focuses on "aspirational" thinking, which has been my word of the year for 2023 by the way.
First let's get this in writing, archived here: "The business world is filled with self-described experts, gurus, and influencers who promise success through manifestation, but many of these beliefs and practices lack solid evidence," Dr. Dixon said.
Next, some results: "Although manifesters felt more confident and optimistic about achieving success, we didn't find objective proof to support the effectiveness of manifestation."
And finally I ask, why did we need a study to prove that "thinking really hard" about money can make you rich? Anyway, now you know.
via University of Queensland Business School: Lucas J. Dixon et al, "The Secret" to Success? The Psychology of Belief in Manifestation, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (2023). DOI: 10.1177/01461672231181162
Image credit: AI Art - Aliens Entering a Pissoir by Marcel Duchamp - 2022
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