What is the true definition and impact of the placebo effect?

[Simon Bridge]

Has the author got the wrong end of the stick?
http://phys.org/news/2012-08-insights-placebo-effect.html

He seems to be saying that the placebo effect is the bodies ability to heal itself without outside cause (beyond the patients beliefs).

I understood "placebo effect" to be more when a patient feels better without getting better.

Perhaps they are talking about the special case where a positive attitude improves immune response - despondent people tend not to get better as easily?

 

[jim mcnamara]

IT seems oddball to me as well. It is however a mathematical model. Science thrives on math. However. This appears to be the case where some people are drawing conclusions from a weak model.

 

[Laroxe]

The placebo effect is based on a persons belief's about an intervention, its generally only really evident in peoples self reported subjective experience of their symptoms. There is little evidence it has an effect on the physiology associated with health problems. The largest effects are seen in studies of pain, anxiety and depression.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1847831/