Question

More oil and inflammation Refer to Exercise 55. Could blinding be used in this experiment? Explain your reasoning. Why is blinding an important consideration in this context?

Short answer

Because we would not really know the genuine placebo effect if we didn't adhere blinding, the outcome of therapy could be modified by the subject's knowledge of the treatment.

Step-by-step solution

Given information

We need to find why is blinding an important consideration in oil and inflammation context.

Simplify

In a double-blind experiment, neither the subjects nor the people who measure them know which treatment they had, whereas in a single-blind experiment, either the people who measure or the people who get the results know which treatment they got (but not both).

For pain alleviation, the individuals are given either ASU or a placebo.
We may then apply blinding in the experiment by making sure the two options are visually identical and without telling the individuals which treatment they will get.

Furthermore, it is critical to use blinding because otherwise, we will not be able to determine the true placebo effect (as the placebo effect is no longer present when the subjects are aware that they are receiving a placebo) and thus the treatment results may be influenced by the subjects' perceptions.