Dr. Wilkins randomly assigns subjects to one of three groups. He is interested in the effects of caffeine on anxiety levels. He
gives subjects in the first group an extra two cups of coffee a day for six months. The second group receives an extra two cups of decaffeinated coffee a day for the same time period, while the control group is not given either regular or decaffeinated coffee. By providing one group with decaffeinated coffee, Dr. Wilkins is trying to account for which potential element of the experiment
It is a sham simulation of therapy. It is also called the effect of an inert substance. That is an oxymoron, it doesn't make sense, the effect of something that has no effect. It is used to describe the interaction between the patient and the provider who gives treatment or a substance with no known medical effects and the people who are part of this experiment get a benefit after the administration of it.
