Health & Medicine
The Placebo Effect
The placebo effect is when people experience real improvements in their condition after receiving a fake treatment they believe is real.
Theorypedia Editors
The editorial team behind Theorypedia — The Why Behind the World.
Health & Medicine
Hormesis
Hormesis is the biological principle that small doses of stress or toxins can actually strengthen an organism's ability to handle larger doses later.
Health & Medicine
The Nocebo Effect
The nocebo effect occurs when negative expectations about a treatment or situation cause real harmful symptoms to manifest.
Economics & Decisions
Sunk Cost Fallacy
The sunk cost fallacy is our irrational tendency to continue investing in something because we've already invested so much, even when walking away would be the smarter choice.