Actually, that is an incorrect definition of the Placebo Effect. The Placebo Effect is not akin to The Novelty Effect. While they can interact, they are not synonymous.
As to the novelty effect, it applied to professionals as well as patients. I worked in community mental health for 25+ years and every so often intervention philosophies were repackaged and made to sound revolutionary. At one time Psycho-Social Rehabilitation was the hot ticket out of Boston University, then later Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. There will be another one around the corner.
In terms of drug interventions, I remember the outrageous fervor about SSRI’s, Paxil in particular, and having people actually get angry at me when I suggested that it was a combination of Novelty and Placebo effects.
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