Knowing product identity biases listening judgments through the placebo effect

Evidence

Knowledge of the products being evaluated is a powerful source of psychological bias. In comparison tests of many kinds, especially in wine tasting and drug testing, considerable effort is expended to ensure the anonymity of the devices or substances being evaluated. If the mind thinks that something is real, the appropriate perceptions or bodily reactions can follow—the classic placebo effect. In audio, many serious people persist in the belief that they can ignore such non-auditory factors as price, size, brand, and so on. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1046

Categorization

• XREF: Channels the wine-tasting and drug-testing blind-methodology parallels into audio; builds on the prior paragraph’s subconscious-baggage observation.
• SHARE: For an audiophile friend who insists they can hear cables/power-conditioner differences with their eyes closed.