I quite wish that in studies like this, the projections of the subjects themselves were also evaluated. What their self reported expectation was, as well as their projection of the impact of the treatment, and then one week on whether they thought they were getting the placebo or the actual drug. It would be really interesting to contrast it against the final outcomes.
The reason I mention this is SSRIs. In modern controlled trials, they show a placebo level effect on many things they're still actively used to treat. And that's quite impressive given the dramatic side effects of them, making a double blind study essentially impossible. And so in any domain where psychosomatic issues may play a role, which is arguably most of everything, it would seem that projections contrasted against outcomes would be quite informative.
The reason I mention this is SSRIs. In modern controlled trials, they show a placebo level effect on many things they're still actively used to treat. And that's quite impressive given the dramatic side effects of them, making a double blind study essentially impossible. And so in any domain where psychosomatic issues may play a role, which is arguably most of everything, it would seem that projections contrasted against outcomes would be quite informative.