Winfried Rief

Short info

My research focuses on the role of expectations as predictors of treatment outcome in the field of psychology and medicine. This does not only include research on placebo and nocebo mechanisms, but also the investigation of expectations as a major mechanism of mental disorders and their modification. We use experimental methods to modify clinically relevant expectations, and we also address cognitive immunization processes that prevent people from changing expectations. Further, I am interested in the role of physical symptoms (e.g., pain), their classification, development, maintenance and change.