Placebos are fake therapies that can induce real therapeutic effects, called placebo effects. It goes without saying that what matters for inducing a placebo effect is not so much the fake treatment itself, but rather the therapeutic ritual that is carried out, which is capable of triggering psychobiological mechanisms in the patient’s brain. Both laypersons and scientists often accept the phenomenon of the placebo effect with reluctance, as fiction-induced clinical improvements are at odds with common sense. However, it should be emphasized that placebo effects are not surprising after all if one considers that fiction-induced physiological effects occur in everyday life. Movies provide one of the best examples of how fictitious reality can induce psychological and physiological responses, such as fear, love, and tears. In the same way that a horror movie induces fear-related physiological responses, even though the viewer knows everything is fake, so the sight of a syringe may trigger the release of pain-relieving chemicals in the patient’s brain, even if the patient knows there is a fake painkiller inside. From this perspective, placebos can be better conceptualized as rituals, actions, and fictions within a more general framework that emphasizes the power of psychological factors in everyday life, including the healing context.

安慰剂是假疗法，可以产生真正的治疗效果，称为安慰剂效应. 不言而喻，诱导安慰剂效应的关键不是假治疗本身，而是所进行的治疗仪式，它能够触发患者大脑中的心理生物学机制。外行和科学家们常常不情愿地接受安慰剂效应的现象，因为小说引起的临床改善与常识不一致。然而，应该强调的是，如果人们认为小说引起的生理效应发生在日常生活中，那么安慰剂效应毕竟不足为奇。电影提供了最好的例子之一，说明虚构的现实如何诱发心理和生理反应，例如恐惧、爱和眼泪。就像恐怖电影诱发恐惧相关的生理反应一样，即使观众知道一切都是假的，所以看到注射器可能会触发患者大脑中缓解疼痛的化学物质的释放，即使患者知道里面有假的止痛药。从这个角度来看，安慰剂可以更好地概念化为仪式、行动和虚构，在一个更一般的框架内，强调日常生活中心理因素的力量，包括治疗背景。