Stopper Marlies, Wabnegger Albert, Schienle Anne
Clinical Psychology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria.
Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ. 2024 Aug 22;14(8):2435-2444. doi: 10.3390/ejihpe14080161.
Studies with adults and school children have shown that placebos can enhance motivation and performance in physical activities. This study aimed to investigate whether similar effects are present in kindergarten-aged children. A total of 101 children (58 girls, 43 boys) aged 3 to 6 years were randomly assigned to one of two groups that either received a deceptive placebo (DP: "magic potion") or a nondeceptive placebo (NDP: "water") to enhance physical abilities. Each child completed three tasks (sprinting; balancing: standing on a balance board; strength: using a handheld dynamometer) both with and without the placebo. The variables assessed included task performance, enjoyment, and expected and perceived placebo efficacy (measured with nonverbal pictorial rating scales). Results showed that both the DP and NDP increased speed. For strength, balance, and task enjoyment (which was very high), no placebo-induced changes were observed. Expected efficacy was higher for the DP; perceived efficacy did not differ between DP and NDP. In conclusion, reported outcome expectations indicated that kindergarten-aged children were already able to differentiate between the two types of placebos which exhibited positive effects concerning running performance. This encourages further research on using nondeceptive placebos to enhance physical activity, which is crucial for children's overall health.
针对成年人和学龄儿童的研究表明，安慰剂可以提高体育活动中的动力和表现。本研究旨在调查幼儿园年龄段的儿童是否也有类似的效果。共有101名3至6岁的儿童（58名女孩，43名男孩）被随机分配到两组中的一组，这两组分别接受了一种具有欺骗性的安慰剂（DP：“魔药”）或一种无欺骗性的安慰剂（NDP：“水”），以增强体能。每个孩子在服用安慰剂和未服用安慰剂的情况下都完成了三项任务（短跑；平衡：站在平衡板上；力量：使用手持测力计）。评估的变量包括任务表现、愉悦感以及预期和感知到的安慰剂效果（用非语言图片评分量表测量）。结果显示，DP组和NDP组的速度都有所提高。对于力量、平衡和任务愉悦感（非常高），未观察到安慰剂引起的变化。DP组的预期效果更高；DP组和NDP组之间的感知效果没有差异。总之，报告的结果预期表明，幼儿园年龄段的儿童已经能够区分这两种类型的安慰剂，它们对跑步表现都有积极影响。这鼓励了进一步研究使用无欺骗性的安慰剂来增强体育活动，这对儿童的整体健康至关重要。
