Dr. Darwin Guevarra is reviewing graduate student applications for the 2024-2025 application cycle. Click the button below for details about what he looks for in a graduate student. If you have any questions, please feel free to email him at guevarda@miamioh.edu.
We found that non-deceptive placebos administered remotely reduced stress, anxiety, and depression in people experiencing prolonged stress from the COVID-19 pandemic. Over two weeks, participants reported improvements in mental health, highlighting the feasibility and effectiveness of this low-effort intervention.
We found that vaccine mindsets are linked to less stress and sadness and more happiness. Positive vaccine, efficacy, and body-response mindset are linked to fewer side effects. Vaccine side effects mindset are associated with better immune response. These findings suggest that fostering positive vaccine mindsets not only enhances the vaccination experience but potentially boosts immune responses.
We provide a review on how placebo effects, both traditional and non-deceptive, can be used in emotion regulation. We discuss placebo effects and their mechanisms. We then review evidence of placebos regulating emotions. We discuss the ethical dilemma in using placebos to regulate emotions and highlight work on placebos without deception. Lastly, we discuss basic science and translational application questions and suggest directions for future research.
Stanford Report, August 2024
MSU Today, Aug 2024
Greater Good Magazine, Nov 2023