Is it possible that up to half the side effects reported in medical trials are all in people's heads? Is someone's expectation of a negative side effect strong enough to make it actually happen? And if so, how do medical researchers break this dangerous cycle?
These are questions asked – and answered – by Kate Faasse, a Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology in UNSW's Faculty of Science, in this video. It is part of a new series from the UNSW Centre for Ideas in which UNSW academics and researchers challenge us to think about how we might not just survive, but thrive in this century of uncertainty.