The Meaning Response, "Placebo," and Methods.
Perspectives in biology and medicine January 1, 2018 Phil Hutchinson, Daniel E Moerman
Dan Moerman's concept of the 'meaning response' best explains placebo phenomena, covering data from RCTs and historical records where conditioning and response-expectancy fall short. The meaning response accounts for medically significant responses where no conditioning evidence exists and where individuals lack the knowledge to form expectant beliefs. Despite criticism for allegedly violating naturalistic demands and conflicting with dominant philosophy of mind and cognitive science views, this article defends the meaning response and proposes incorporating ethnomethodological fieldwork into future research.