{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T17:19:57Z","timestamp":1786123197394,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784160000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Placebos deceptively labeled as \u201ccreativity enhancers\u201d have been shown to improve divergent thinking (DT) performance. This study examined whether nondeceptive placebos administered with full transparency, which are also known as open-label placebos (OLPs) can produce comparable effects when framed as enhancing either cognitive or affective processes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups that completed the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) twice within a single testing session. After the first AUT (baseline), two groups received a placebo pill, which was introduced either as a \u201ccreativity enhancer\u201d or a \u201cmood enhancer\u201d, whereas the third group received no treatment. Objective outcomes included DT performance (fluency, originality, and flexibility); subjective measures comprised ratings of mood, attention, performance perception, and expected\/perceived placebo efficacy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The study included 105 participants (mean age: 29.6\u202fyears, SD\u202f=\u202f9.63, 62% female). Placebo administration improved subjective outcomes but did not affect DT performance (all\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;gt;\u202f0.05). It increased self-reported mood (\u0394M\u202f=\u202f0.36, 95% CI [0.13, 0.58], SE\u202f=\u202f0.11) and attention (\u0394M\u202f=\u202f0.56, 95% CI [0.27, 0.84], SE\u202f=\u202f0.14), regardless of labeling condition. Perceived placebo efficacy after the AUT decreased relative to expected efficacy before the experiment (\u0394M\u202f=\u202f\u22120.66, 95% CI [\u22121.07, \u22120.25], SE\u202f=\u202f0.21).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These placebo effects were limited to subjective states and were comparable across the creativity- and mood-enhancement suggestion conditions, highlighting the need for future research to further investigate the role of content-specific suggestions in placebo responsiveness.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1833541","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T05:39:41Z","timestamp":1784180381000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effects of an open-label placebo on divergent thinking performance"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Marlies","family":"Stopper","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Graz","place":["Graz, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Albert","family":"Wabnegger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Graz","place":["Graz, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Janika","family":"Saretzki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Creative Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Graz","place":["Graz, Austria"]},{"name":"Section of Psychological Methods and Assessment, Department of Psychology, LMU","place":["Munich, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Corina","family":"Scheer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Graz","place":["Graz, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anne","family":"Schienle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Graz","place":["Graz, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"463","DOI":"10.1016\/bs.irn.2018.07.031","article-title":"The ethics of placebo effects in clinical practice and research","volume":"139","author":"Annoni","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int. 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