I came across this passage while preparing for my GRE. It seemed relevant so I thought I would post.
That placebos can cure everything from dandruff
to leprosy is well known. They have a long
history of use by witch doctors, faith healers, and
even modern physicians, all of whom refuse to
5 admit their efficacy. Modern distribution techniques
can bring this most potent of medicines to
the aid of everyone, not just those lucky enough to
receive placebos in a medical testing program.
Every drug tested would prove effective if
10 special steps were not taken to neutralize the
placebo effect. This is why drug tests give half the
patients the new medication and half a harmless
substitute. These tests prove the value of placebos
because approximately five percent of the patients
15 taking them are cured even though the placebos are
made from substances that have been carefully
selected to be useless.
Most people feel that the lucky patients in a
drug test get the experimental drug because the real
20 drug provides them a chance to be cured. (1) Yet
analysis shows that patients getting the placebo may
be the lucky ones because they may be cured
without risking any adverse effects the new drug
may have. Furthermore, the drug may well be
25 found worthless and to have severe side effects. No
harmful side effects result from placebos.
Placebos regularly cure more than five
percent of the patients and would cure considerably
more if the doubts associated with the tests were
30 eliminated. Cures are principally due to the patient’s
faith, (2) yet the patient must have doubts knowing
that he may or may not be given the new drug,
which itself may or may not prove to be an effective
drug. Since he knows the probability of being
35 given the true drug is about fifty percent, the
placebo cure rate would be more than doubled by
removing these doubts if cures are directly related
to faith.
The actual curing power of placebos probably
40 stems from the faith of the patient in the treatment.
This suggests that cure rates in the ten percent range
could be expected if patients are given placebos
under the guise of a proven cure, even when
patients know their problems are incurable.
45 It may take a while to reach the ten percent
level of cure because any newly established
program will not have cultivated the word-of-mouth
advertising needed to insure its success. One
person saying “I was told that my problem was
50 beyond medical help, but they cured me,” can direct
countless people to the treatment with the required
degree of faith. Furthermore, when only terminal
illnesses are treated, those not cured tell no one of
the failure.
eliminated. Cures are principally due to the patient’s
faith, (2) yet the patient must have doubts knowing
that he may or may not be given the new drug,
which itself may or may not prove to be an effective
drug. Since he knows the probability of being
35 given the true drug is about fifty percent, the
placebo cure rate would be more than doubled by
removing these doubts if cures are directly related
to faith.
The actual curing power of placebos probably
40 stems from the faith of the patient in the treatment.
This suggests that cure rates in the ten percent range
could be expected if patients are given placebos
under the guise of a proven cure, even when
patients know their problems are incurable.
45 It may take a while to reach the ten percent
level of cure because any newly established
program will not have cultivated the word-of-mouth
advertising needed to insure its success. One
person saying “I was told that my problem was
50 beyond medical help, but they cured me,” can direct
countless people to the treatment with the required
degree of faith. Furthermore, when only terminal
illnesses are treated, those not cured tell no one of
the failure.
1. Which one of the following best expresses the main
idea of the passage?
(A) Placebo treatment is a proven tool of modern
medicine and its expanded use would benefit
society’s health.
(B) Because modern technology allows for
distribution of drugs on a massive scale, the
proven efficacy of the placebo is no longer
limited to a privileged few.
© The curative power of the placebo is so
strong that it should replace proven drugs
because the patients receiving the placebo
will then be cured without risking any
adverse side effects.
(D) The price of placebo treatment must be kept
artificially high because patients have little
faith in inexpensive treatments.
(E) Semi-placebos—drugs that contain only a
small amount of the usual dosage—are even
more effective curatives than either the
placebo or the full-strength drug.
2. Which one of the following is most analogous to
the idea presented in the last paragraph?
(A) Buying a television at a discount house
(B) Making an additional pledge to charity
© Choosing the most expensive dishwasher in
a manufacturer’s line
(D) Waiting until a book comes out in
paperback
(E) Contributing one dollar to the Presidential
Campaign fund on your tax return
3. According to the passage, when testing a new
drug medical researchers give half of the subjects
the test drug and half a placebo because
(A) proper statistical controls should be
observed.
(B) this method reduces the risk of maiming
too many subjects if the drug should prove
to be harmful.
© all drugs which are tested would prove to
be effective otherwise.
(D) most drugs would test positively otherwise.
(E) the cost of dispensing drugs to all the
patients is prohibitive.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that the author
might
(A) believe that the benefits of a placebo treatment
program which leads patients to
believe they were getting a real drug would
outweigh the moral issue of lying.
(B) support legislation outlawing the use of
placebos.
© open up a medical clinic that would treat
patients exclusively through placebo
methods.
(D) believe that factors other than faith are
responsible for the curative power of the
placebo.
(E) believe that placebo treatment centers
should be tax-exempt because they are
nonprofit businesses.
5. Which one of the following best describes the
organization of the material presented in the
passage?
(A) A general proposition is stated; then evidence
for its support is given.
(B) Two types of drug treatment—placebo and
non-placebo—are compared and contrasted.
© A result is stated, its cause is explained,
and an application is suggested.
(D) A dilemma is presented and a possible
solution is offered.
(E) A series of examples is presented; then a
conclusion is drawn from them.
6. Which one of the following most accurately characterizes
the author’s attitude toward placebo
treatment?
(A) reserved advocacy
(B) feigned objectivity
© summary dismissal
(D) perplexed by its effectiveness
(E) zealous promotion
