Psychoanalytic Study of the Placebo Effect Using the Example of a Culture Formation of Consumption of Biologically Active Food Supplements

This research studies the impact of the placebo effect on the efficacy of dietary supplements from a psychoanalytic perspective. The research hypothesis suggests that the efficacy of dietary supplements is not solely the result of their physiological effects but also depends on the degree of the consumer's conviction in their benefits, shaped under the influence of a combination of socio-psychological factors. Within the framework of the study, the following theoretical and empirical tasks were set: to analyze psychoanalytic theories of the placebo effect, explaining the mechanisms of the relationship between expectations and beliefs in efficacy with mental and physiological state; to analyze the impact of socio-psychological factors on the formation of beliefs about the efficacy of dietary supplements; to consider theoretical approaches regarding the relationship of advertising, reviews, pricing, and packaging with the creation and support of beliefs; to investigate psychological aspects of the perception and evaluation of the efficacy of dietary supplements; to determine the role of suggestion, self-suggestion, and other psychological phenomena in the process of forming beliefs; to assess the relationship between sociocultural determinants and the attitudes and behavior of consumers towards dietary supplements, their perception, and conviction in their efficacy. As part of the research, surveys and interviews were conducted among dietary supplement consumers to analyze their convictions and the factors related to the formation of these beliefs. An analysis of the relationship between socio-psychological factors and the perception of the efficacy of dietary supplements was carried out, as well as an assessment of the relationship between the personal characteristics of consumers with the perception of information about dietary supplements and the formation of beliefs in their efficacy. The results of the study confirmed the proposed hypothesis and demonstrated the significant role of psychological and social factors in the perception of the efficacy of dietary supplements, thanks to the activation of self-suggestion and placebo effect mechanisms.