It is standard (and required practice) to give informed consent
prior to beginning a new medication during which possible side
effects are discussed. While few would argue with this practice,
clinicians have wondered about the possibility that the very
discussion of potential side effects might actually create an
expectation that they will occur and thus increase the
likelihood of certain individuals to report them. A recent study
from the Journal of Psychopharmacology experimentally tested
this hypothesis using college undergraduates with complaints of
sleeping difficulty. The participants were 82 undergraduates at
a university in Australia who had difficulty sleeping and
believed they were participating in a trial of a new hypnotic
medication. The sample was randomly divided into three groups-
one that was given a written and verbal warning for the
potential for a single side effect (appetite increase or
decrease), another that was given warnings about four potential
side effects, while a third group was to