Placebo analgesia induced by social observational learning.

Abstract in brief

• Social observational learning can induce placebo analgesia, meaning watching someone else experience pain relief can reduce a person's perception of pain.
• The placebo effects from observing others were comparable to those from direct experience via conditioning, but were stronger than effects from just verbal suggestions.
• Empathy traits enhanced the observed placebo effect, indicating that personal traits influence how social observation impacts pain perception.]