Power Bands For Balance: The Ultimate Placebo Effect

General Discussion
1

I’m sure you guys have seen these infomercials for iRenew/ Power Balance bracelets and other forms of crockery claiming to restore natural harmony to our “biofields” and other pseudo-scientific garbage.

Unfortunately, my friend was suckered into getting one. In my attempt to convince him that he just wasted his money on BS, he tried to test it on me by doing the same procedure in the infomercials: He forced my arm down and I lost my balance, then he did the same thing with band on and I kept my balance with ease.

I tried telling him it was the mere power of suggestion, something magicians employ all the time. Much to my dismay even when using negative reinforcement to will myself into not subconsciously falling for it, I still resisted. So that night we decided to experiment on multiple people, skeptics and believers alike. The damn experiment worked every time.

We tried various angles and used 2 skeptics, because I felt that there was dual effect of the believer trying not as hard, while the test subject subconsciously tried twice as hard. Still, it worked. Even on a stammering drunk chick it still worked.

What occurred to me was that the power of suggestion is incredibly powerful. Even when a skeptic like myself knew that this was an artifice, the same result still happened. I’ve participated in other suggestive magic tricks and beat them by simply being aware of their knowledge of human nature and statistics (EX: think of a tool, then think of a color: Apparently 90% of people will say a green hammer for whatever reason, I think of magenta pliers) but this one perplexed me.

I think I need to find control groups who have no idea what the bands are for and test it on them. But the problem is, the mere inference of the experiment can still subconsciously lead them to conclusion of the desired effect.

I guess could tell them it is designed to make one lose their balance and test it that way?

What are other powerful suggestive techniques out there that can be learned? If the placebo effect is so powerful, it can be used to more productive ends, like self-improvement.

YVAN EHT NIOJ

2

try doing the experiment with the power band first, then without. You should be able to find your balance the second time since your body knows the physics of how to resist the force the second time

3

I have one. Might be placebo, but even if it is, it works for me.

4

We tried that actually, the placebo effect works in reverse as well. lol

5

how bout try with a livestrong wristband. say it does the same thing and do the tests and see if it works.

6

I’ve seen news stories on this & always wondered about them.
@white shadow, +1 for the Simpsons reference. :stuck_out_tongue:

7

In my abnormal psych class I learned the vast majority of medication are 100% placebos, only the strongest of anti psychotics have any real effect on the mind and even then it’s not much.

In 1957 there was a cancer patient Mr. Wright who was given days to live because of his giant tumors. He heard about a horse serum called krebiozen which was rumored to be effective against cancer so he begged Dr Philip West to give it to him. He agreed and 2 days later Wright was completely cured West said “the tumors melted like snow balls on a hot stove.” 2 Months later Wright read a report saying thee serum was worthless so he relapsed and West gave him a super refined version of the drug which was actually water and the tumors immediately melted again. He was perfectly healthy until 2 months later Wright read a definitive report about the serum and died 2 days later.

I’m being brainwashed?..probably yvan eht nioj!

8

Well. Today at the mall they’re now selling these things. I tried one. A huge guy was selling them and teaching me what to do. He pushed down on me with one finger and I fell easily. (This guy had some serious muscles on him) Then with the braccelet on, he pushed down so hard, my arm is now bruised, and I didnt tip over.

Now I’m still skeptical of how it really works, but for my arm to be bruised by a huge guy pushing that hard…I’m starting to believe it works.

9

that power of suggestion thing doesn’t work just a bunch of halabaloo

wellp of to the navy

10

I’m telling you dude, it’s all in your head. The whole thing is just rubber with a holographic sticker covering a small sheet of non-magnetized metal.

What’s just crazy for me is just how powerful the suggestive nature of this piece of crap. I’ve never fallen for something so blatantly retarded, esp. when my conscious brain was trying to make it fail. I must harness this power~!:mad:

It’s SUPERLIMINAL!

11

just read up about this. I talked to someone on new years eve and they mentioned they had one and i had no clue what they were talking and i assumed it was another one of those magnetic bracelet things which i am skeptical about but atleast i could understand how people can be talked into it since we do have iron in our bodies and what not but these guys are claiming to use the power of a hologram? gotta be kidding me with that bull crap. is this also the same reason why minorities don’t take the stickers off their hats, does the new era sticker help them maintain their chakra flow?

12

Growing up my dad always wore a copper band and a few of my other uncles wore copper or magnetic bands too. I have nothing against these. Weather they work or not i could care less, but if you spend the $30 on them and feel better it’s all good. If not i’ve spent $30 on dumber shit.

13

put a band on both wrists then try to tip them over.

could work imo

14

I’ve been looking at how the bands work. I bought one, and yeah, in the beginning, it felt like my balance was better. But then I realized how they do the tests.

First off, when you stand on one foot and they press down on your arm, as far as I recall, they press down on you closer to your hand. The force is at a weak point, and obviously, it’s going to tip you a bit easier, especially if your body’s holding firm. Then, when you’re holding the band, once they press down on you again, they press down on you closer to your shoulder, which means closer to your center of gravity. You’re going to hold much better that way.

Eh. It was worth it to find out how stuff works. Oh well.

15

Had the test redone tonight. Still saying the band somehow works, or gimmicks me into it working.

Told my sister to let me use her energy band thing, and a cheap silicon braccelet similar to the livestrong ones. Randomly, when tested I didnt know which one I was holding since I was blindfolded, and each time pressing DIRECTLY on my shoulder, I didnt fall over with the energy one. When I held the livestrong braccelet, I tipped over in a second.

16

It’s a placebo effect. The first time the test is done you aren’t aware how much force is used so you lose your balance. The second time since you are aware of whats going to happen you react to it so it makes it seem like the band is doing a difference.

If you really want to test it just have two bracelets one regular and one powerband and put it on someone but cover their wrist so they can’t see it. Then ask them do their normal routine and check if they feel any different after wards.

17

That’s not a very good test. Chances are if you ask someone if the bracelet made them “feel different” then they will say yes either way…thinking that this should be the answer.

It’s hard to prove that it doesn’t work. The best way to try would be to get 2 groups of people (who are similar in age/build/gender) who have not tried the bracelet. Then perform the standard test with both groups (one group with a normal bracelet and the other with the Power Band). You’d want to blindfold everyone so they do not know which one they have. If the people who have the normal bracelet tend to keep their balance, then a placebo effect could possibly exist. If the people who have the Power Bands tend to lose their balance, then the Bands might not work.

18

We did do that, although the band wasn’t a perfect duplicate, it didn’t fail even with a blind test. Like I mentioned before we even tried it in reverse, the placebo effect is just that powerful.

I just need to meet my friend again to make a more controlled experiment. I can’t make him go on believing this shit, I have to destroy his dreams!!!

19

dude should have stopped reading.

20

Yup the placebo effect is powerful stuff. The biggest and most common placebo on the market are various diet pills like Hydroxycut. 98%-100% of all those “Fat burning” supplements on the market are useless garbage.

Nothing but a pretty label with lots made up B.S claims, and the placebo effect going for it. Notice how the directions for them always say that the person should be dieting & exercising while taking them.

So those taking it will get a psyc boost thinking the pills are going to give that little extra push in the right direction to make fat burning happen, then proceed to do a little dieting with some exercise.

Afterwards once they lose some weight they attribute it all to the supplements, when it was really just their efforts alone paying off.