A recent study conducted by medical experts from different institutions found that our expectations can play a very important role when it comes to the field of health and medicine.

The study involved more than 80 volunteers, each of whom was told about a new FDA approved pain-reliever. Researchers gave out brochures that informed half of the group that the drug was regularly priced at $2.50, while the other half was informed that the drug they were receiving had been discounted to 10 cents.

The scientists then administered minor electrical shocks to the participants both before and after they ingested the pill.

As with many psychological studies in the field of medicine, the pills involved were placebos, nothing more than Vitamin C supplements. But in this case, the classic placebo effect took a turn.

Researchers found that 61 percent of those taking “discounted” pills said they experienced a lesser amount of pain compared with 85 percent of the participants who believed they were consuming regularly priced medications.

“People do have a naive theory that more expensive medications will work better than generic brands,” Stephen Garcia, adjunct assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, said. “Part of the reason is that people typically infer the quality [of a medication] from its price.”