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01 Feb 2025, 06:51
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Hi Mike,
Appreciate the methodological explanation of the Placebo effect. Thoroughly enjoyed the read, and almost forgot about the question while reading! :p
However, I did have a couple of questions regarding option C.
1) At first read I wasn't sure what it meant and which group of people it referred to.
2) Post some deliberation, the reason I rejected C is because I thought it meant that taking the Anti-prescription drugs created the placebo. Not taking the Sugar pills.
Is there a way I can be sure that option C in fact talked about the group taking sugar pills? Would love your input!
Appreciate the methodological explanation of the Placebo effect. Thoroughly enjoyed the read, and almost forgot about the question while reading! :p
However, I did have a couple of questions regarding option C.
1) At first read I wasn't sure what it meant and which group of people it referred to.
2) Post some deliberation, the reason I rejected C is because I thought it meant that taking the Anti-prescription drugs created the placebo. Not taking the Sugar pills.
Is there a way I can be sure that option C in fact talked about the group taking sugar pills? Would love your input!
mikemcgarry
01 Feb 2025, 16:48
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I don't think Mike is posting these days, but I can cover this.
First, it's true that C is very vague. Which improvements in mood is C talking about? We shouldn't really have to guess about that to get the question right. So let's consider the three possibilities. C could be referring to improvements in the sugar group, the antidepressant group, or both.
*If it's the sugar group only, that fits with the general idea of the placebo effect: people's beliefs led them to improve even though they weren't actually taking meds.
*If it's the antidepressant group only, that's a bit odd: if that group improved due to beliefs, then why did the sugar group improve? And since both groups believed they were taking antidepressants, why wouldn't belief help the sugar group, too? Are we supposed to imagine that this group improved because they had a very very mild sugar shortage? (Also, in real life, sugar pills are a standard placebo--the point is to use a substance that doesn't really do anything. A medication is not a placebo.) When you push on this interpretation, it doesn't hold up.
*If it's both groups, this implies that belief is more important than the actual substance in question. Like the first interpretation, this is consistent with the idea of a placebo effect. In fact, this is really the best way to interpret the statement. First, in pure test terms, if the text says "the improvements" and doesn't specify which one, we should default to assuming that it's all of them. Second, in scientific terms, if belief is the main driver of recovery for a certain treatment, then belief should play a role whether we're taking real meds or not.
In any case, whether we read this as "sugar only" or "both groups," C undermines the idea that we can knowingly take sugar pills and benefit. If you're reading it as "antidepressants only," you need to dig in a bit more to make sense of the data.
First, it's true that C is very vague. Which improvements in mood is C talking about? We shouldn't really have to guess about that to get the question right. So let's consider the three possibilities. C could be referring to improvements in the sugar group, the antidepressant group, or both.
*If it's the sugar group only, that fits with the general idea of the placebo effect: people's beliefs led them to improve even though they weren't actually taking meds.
*If it's the antidepressant group only, that's a bit odd: if that group improved due to beliefs, then why did the sugar group improve? And since both groups believed they were taking antidepressants, why wouldn't belief help the sugar group, too? Are we supposed to imagine that this group improved because they had a very very mild sugar shortage? (Also, in real life, sugar pills are a standard placebo--the point is to use a substance that doesn't really do anything. A medication is not a placebo.) When you push on this interpretation, it doesn't hold up.
*If it's both groups, this implies that belief is more important than the actual substance in question. Like the first interpretation, this is consistent with the idea of a placebo effect. In fact, this is really the best way to interpret the statement. First, in pure test terms, if the text says "the improvements" and doesn't specify which one, we should default to assuming that it's all of them. Second, in scientific terms, if belief is the main driver of recovery for a certain treatment, then belief should play a role whether we're taking real meds or not.
In any case, whether we read this as "sugar only" or "both groups," C undermines the idea that we can knowingly take sugar pills and benefit. If you're reading it as "antidepressants only," you need to dig in a bit more to make sense of the data.
Quote:
11 Mar 2026, 03:08
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Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot:
A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.
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A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.
This post was generated automatically.
