RESPONSE EXPECTANCY-THEORY AND APPLICATION - A DECENNIAL REVIEW

Response expectancy is the anticipation of automatic, subjective, and behavioral responses to particular situational cues. More than a decad e of research in diverse laboratories indicates that response expectan cies are important considerations in designing and administering treat ments and prevention programs for such problems as anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse, and sexual dysfunction. Response expectan cy also plays a central role in the effects of antidepressive medicati on, psychotherapy, and hypnosis. In addition, studies of the effects o f placebos reveal that response expectancies can produce lasting chang es in pain, anxiety, depression, alertness, tension, sexual arousal, a lcohol craving and consumption, aggression, asthma, warts, and contact dermatitis. The veracity of many self-reported placebo effects have b een corroborated by changes in physiological function.