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this, watch little kids playing on a medication. This fake medication
playground and wait for one of is called a placebo. In this type of
them to fall down. (Don’t push experiment, the group of people
them.) receiving the actual medication is
called the experimental group
In many cases, the child will ask
and the group getting the placebo
for a Band-Aid, even if they have
is called the control group.
no cut! If their parents give them
one, they often start to magically At the conclusion of the
“feel better” and go on playing. experiment, one of three things will
Now, if you were watching this, happen:
you would know the Band-Aid is
1. Neither the experimental
not helping. But the young child
group nor the control group
has convinced himself that he will
will get better. This means
be getting better, so he feels
the medication does not
better.
work.
This idea of feeling better because 2. The experimental and control
you expect to feel better is known group will get better at the
as the placebo effect, and can be same rate. This means that
a big problem for scientists testing it is the placebo effect, not
new medications. The people in the medication, that is
the experiments might tell making people better. There
scientists they are feeling better, is no proof that the
and they aren’t really lying. It’s medication works.
just that what is making them feel 3. The experimental group gets
better has nothing to do with what better at a higher rate than
the scientist is trying to test. the control group. This
would be evidence that the
So let’s go back to our scientist
medication works.
with the bronchitis medication. We
know she needs to give both Control groups and experimental
groups of people something, but groups are not just for experiments
we also know she can’t give about medications. Scientists
everyone the medication. looking to study animal behavior,
what makes plants grow, or how
So what’s the solution? The
bacteria multiply will likely have
scientist must give one group the
these types of groups in their
real medication and the other
experiments.
group something that looks like the
medication, but isn’t actual
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