The potency of the placebo effect with psychoactive drugs is pretty remarkable. It also illustrates an interesting effect about the cultural influence on intoxication. It's one of the more easily repeatable placebo experiments.
If you give a bunch of young adults who have never drunk alcohol some "alcohol" and then observe them, they both a) act drunk b) act drunk, according to their expectations about alcohol. (People who report that they believe alcohol makes people more social act more social, those who report that they believe it makes people withdrawn, become morose, etc.)
Another repeated finding, in both placebo and non-placebo groups, is that the alcohol takes effect before it would... take effect. People change behaviour almost immediately. I've noticed that with a drink myself; I'm feeling the drink before I possibly could have absorbed it. It also works the other way too -- a group of actually drunk people behave more sober when you've told them it was just rum-flavoured water, not actual alcohol.
>People change behaviour almost immediately. I've noticed that with a drink myself; I'm feeling the drink before I possibly could have absorbed it.
I have noticed a similar thing in myself. The second I taste alcohol, it is like a switch was flipped, and I am now "drinking mode". Presumably some strong state-dependent learning. On the other hand, if I am physically dehydrated and drink a glass of water, I immediately feel better even though it must surely take several minutes for the water to start being absorbed.
I suspect the placebo effect has limited duration for those who are experienced with psychedelics. I can imagine wrongly thinking you’ve been dosed for about 90 minutes, but after that one would surely know, at least for LSD.
If you give a bunch of young adults who have never drunk alcohol some "alcohol" and then observe them, they both a) act drunk b) act drunk, according to their expectations about alcohol. (People who report that they believe alcohol makes people more social act more social, those who report that they believe it makes people withdrawn, become morose, etc.)
Another repeated finding, in both placebo and non-placebo groups, is that the alcohol takes effect before it would... take effect. People change behaviour almost immediately. I've noticed that with a drink myself; I'm feeling the drink before I possibly could have absorbed it. It also works the other way too -- a group of actually drunk people behave more sober when you've told them it was just rum-flavoured water, not actual alcohol.