Abstract
The genetic placebo effect comprises the gene-related psychological, physiological and behavioral changes resulting from merely receiving genetic information. Our research investigated the genetic placebo effect on psychological resilience when taking the impact of genes into consideration and investigating the moderating effect of self-compassion on the genetic placebo effect. In experiment 1, participants’ psychological resilience was measured before (or after) receiving genetic feedback about psychological resilience. We observed a weak genetic placebo effect independent of the impact of genes, as indexed by higher correlation between the genetic score and psychological resilience score in the after-feedback group. Self-compassion moderated the genetic placebo effect, and participants with higher self-compassion were more sensitive to genetic feedback. These findings were replicated in experiment 2, in which we randomly gave genetic feedback to participants, reporting genetic predispositions of high or low psychological resilience. Our research offers insight into the use of genetic testing and feedback.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Consent was not obtained to publicly share individual participant gene data. Other data available from the corresponding author on request.
References
Aronson, S. J., & Rehm, H. L. (2015). Building the foundation for genomics in precision medicine. Nature, 526(7573), 336–342. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature15816
Beauchamp, M. R., Rhodes, R. E., Kreutzer, C., & Rupert, J. L. (2011). Experiential versus genetic accounts of inactivity: implications for inactive individuals’ self-efficacy beliefs and intentions to exercise. Behavioral Medicine, 37(1), 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2010.540263
Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., & Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230–241. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077
Bonanno, G. A., & Mancini, A. D. (2012). Beyond resilience and PTSD: Mapping the heterogeneity of responses to potential trauma. Psychological Trauma: Theory Research Practice and Policy, 4(1), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017829
Crum, A. J., Salovey, P., & Achor, S. (2013). Rethinking stress: the role of mindsets in determining the stress response. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(4), 716–733. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031201
Dar-Nimrod, I., Zuckerman, M., & Duberstein, P. R. (2013). The effects of learning about one’s own genetic susceptibility to alcoholism: a randomized experiment. Genetics in Medicine, 15(2), 132–138. https://doi.org/10.1038/gim.2012.111
Dweck, C. S. (2008). Can Personality Be Changed? The Role of Beliefs in Personality and Change. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(6), 391–394. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00612.x
Epli, H., Batık, M. V., Çabuker, N. D., & Çelik, S. B. (2021). Relationship between psychological resilience and parental acceptance-rejection: The mediating role of self-compassion. Current Psychology, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01822-4
Fan, L., Duan, Q., & Luo, S. (2021). Self-dependent neural variability predicts recovery from depressive symptoms. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 16(9), 962–971
Fujii, T., Ota, M., Hori, H., Hattori, K., Teraishi, T., Sasayama, D., & Kunugi, H. (2014). Association between the common functional FKBP5 variant (rs1360780) and brain structure in a non-clinical population. Journal Of Psychiatric Research, 58, 96–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.07.009
Geers, A. L., Helfer, S. G., Kosbab, K., Weiland, P. E., & Landry, S. J. (2005). Reconsidering the role of personality in placebo effects: dispositional optimism, situational expectations, and the placebo response. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 58(2), 121–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2004.08.011
Geers, A. L., Kosbab, K., Helfer, S. G., Weiland, P. E., & Wellman, J. A. (2007). Further evidence for individual differences in placebo responding: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 62(5), 563–570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2006.12.005
Harden, K. P. (2021). “Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated”: Behavior Genetics in the Postgenomic Era. Annual Review of Psychology, 72(1), 37–60. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-052220-103822
Harvey, J., & Boynton, K. (2021). Self-disclosure and psychological resilience: The mediating roles of self-esteem and self-compassion. Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 15(1), 90–104. https://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.4533
Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford publications
Hjemdal, O., Vogel, P. A., Solem, S., Hagen, K., & Stiles, T. C. (2011). The relationship between resilience and levels of anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in adolescents. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 18(4), 314–321. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.719
Holz, N. E., Buchmann, A. F., Boecker, R., Blomeyer, D., Baumeister, S., Wolf, I., & Laucht, M. (2015). Role of FKBP5 in emotion processing: results on amygdala activity, connectivity and volume. Brain Struct Funct, 220(3), 1355–1368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-014-0729-5
Knerr, S., Bowen, D. J., Beresford, S. A., & Wang, C. (2016). Genetic causal beliefs about obesity, self-efficacy for weight control, and obesity-related behaviours in a middle-aged female cohort. Psychology & Health, 31(4), 420–435. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2015.1115503
Lebowitz, M. S., & Ahn, W. K. (2017). Testing positive for a genetic predisposition to depression magnifies retrospective memory for depressive symptoms. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85(11), 1052–1063. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000254
Lebowitz, M. S., Tabb, K., & Appelbaum, P. S. (2019). Asymmetrical genetic attributions for prosocial versus antisocial behaviour. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(9), 940–949. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0651-1
Luo, S., Ma, Y., Liu, Y., Wang, C., Li, B., Zhang, W., Rao, Y., & Han, S. (2015). Interaction between oxytocin receptor polymorphism and interdependence on human empathy. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 10, 1273–1281. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv019
Luo, S., Yu, D., & Han, S. (2017). 5-HTTLPR moderates the association between interdependence and brain responses to mortality threats. Human Brain Mapping, 38(12), 657–671. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsz029
Luo, S., Zhang, T., Li, W., Yu, M., Hein, G., & Han, S. (2019). Interactions between oxytocin receptor gene and intergroup relationship on empathic neural responses to others’ pain. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 14(5), 505–517. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsz029
Luo, S., Zhu, Y., Fan, L., Gao, D., & Han, S. (2020). Resting-state brain network properties mediate the association between the oxytocin receptor gene and interdependence. Social Neuroscience, 15(3), 296–310
Masten, A. S., Best, K. M., & Garmezy, N. (2008). Resilience and development: Contributions from the study of children who overcome adversity. Development and Psychopathology, 2(4), 425–444. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579400005812
Meisel, S. F., Walker, C., & Wardle, J. (2012). Psychological responses to genetic testing for weight gain: a vignette study. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 20(3), 540–546. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2011.324
Min, J. A., Yu, J. J., Lee, C. U., & Chae, J. H. (2013). Cognitive emotion regulation strategies contributing to resilience in patients with depression and/or anxiety disorders. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 54(8), 1190–1197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2013.05.008
Moon, I. O., Park, S. K., & Jung, J. M. (2013). Effects of Resilience on Work Engagement and Burnout of Clinical Nurses. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration, 19(4), https://doi.org/10.11111/jkana.2013.19.4.525
Neff, K. D. (2003a). The Development and Validation of a Scale to Measure Self-Compassion. Self and Identity, 2(3), 223–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309027
Neff, K. D. (2003b). Self-Compassion: An Alternative Conceptualization of a Healthy Attitude Toward Oneself. Self and Identity, 2(2), 85–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309032
Neff, K. D., & Vonk, R. (2009). Self-compassion versus global self-esteem: two different ways of relating to oneself. Journal of Personality, 77(1), 23–50. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00537.x
Nievergelt, C. M., Maihofer, A. X., Mustapic, M., Yurgil, K. A., Schork, N. J., Miller, M. W., & Baker, D. G. (2015). Genomic predictors of combat stress vulnerability and resilience in U.S. Marines: A genome-wide association study across multiple ancestries implicates PRTFDC1 as a potential PTSD gene. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 51, 459–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.10.017
Nota, L., Soresi, S., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2004). Self-regulation and academic achievement and resilience: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Educational Research, 41(3), 198–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2005.07.001
Pecina, M., Azhar, H., Love, T. M., Lu, T., Fredrickson, B. L., Stohler, C. S., & Zubieta, J. K. (2013). Personality trait predictors of placebo analgesia and neurobiological correlates. Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication Of The American College Of Neuropsychopharmacology, 38(4), 639–646. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2012.227
Poole, J. C., Dobson, K. S., & Pusch, D. (2017). Childhood adversity and adult depression: The protective role of psychological resilience. Child Abuse & Neglect, 64, 89–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.12.012
Raes, F., Pommier, E., Neff, K. D., & Van Gucht, D. (2011). Construction and factorial validation of a short form of the Self-Compassion Scale. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 18(3), 250–255. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.702
Shaw, C., Abrams, K., & Marteau, T. M. (1999). Psychological impact of predicting individuals’ risks of illness: a systematic review. Social Science & Medicine, 49(12), 1571–1598. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0277-9536(99)00244-0
Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard, J. (2008). The brief resilience scale: assessing the ability to bounce back. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15(3), 194–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972
Stewart-Williams, S. (2004). The placebo puzzle: putting together the pieces. Health Psychology, 23(2), 198–206. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.23.2.198
Swann, W. B. (1987). Identity negotiation: Where two roads meet. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(6), 1038–1051. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.53.6.1038
Turnwald, B. P., Goyer, J. P., Boles, D. Z., Silder, A., Delp, S. L., & Crum, A. J. (2019). Learning one’s genetic risk changes physiology independent of actual genetic risk. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(1), 48–56. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0483-4
Vachon-Presseau, E., Berger, S. E., Abdullah, T. B., Huang, L., Cecchi, G. A., Griffith, J. W., & Apkarian, A. V. (2018). Brain and psychological determinants of placebo pill response in chronic pain patients. Nature Communications, 9(1), 3397. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05859-1
Wang, Y., Fan, L., Zhu, Y., Yang, J., Wang, C., Gu, L., Zhong, S., Huang, Y., Xie, X., Zhou, H., Luo, S., & Wu, X. (2019). Neurogenetic Mechanisms of Self-Compassionate Mindfulness: the Role of Oxytocin-Receptor Genes. Mindfulness, 10, 1792–1802. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01141-7
Wei, W., Lin, Y., Hong, T., & Luo, S. (2021). Maternal rearing styles and loneliness: The moderating role of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01639-1
Yu, M., Huang, L., Mao, J., & Luo, S. (2022). Childhood maltreatment, automatic negative thoughts and resilience: the protective roles of culture and genes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37, 349–370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520912582
Funding
This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project 32071081, 31800916, S. L.) and the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Project 2020A1515010975) (S. L.).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
THX and LSY designed the research; THX, LTW, HLQ, DQ, FLY, YMH, WJH, Gese DNA and LSY collected data, THX, LTW and LSY analyzed data; THX and LSY wrote the manuscript. All authors commented on the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Declarations of Interest
The Gese DNA Research Team are employees of Beijing Gese Technology Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
All experimental procedures conformed to the Declaration of Helsinki and were approved by the local Research Ethics Committee of the Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University.
Informed consent
Informed consents were obtained from participants prior to the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tan, H., Li, T., Huang, L. et al. Genetic placebo effect on psychological resilience: the moderating role of self-compassion. Curr Psychol 42, 24047–24056 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03426-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03426-y