What is the term for behavior change resulting from an individual's expectation rather than actual manipulation?

The term for behavior change resulting from an individual's expectation rather than actual manipulation is the placebo effect. This phenomenon occurs when a person experiences a measurable change in their condition after receiving a treatment that has no therapeutic value, simply because they believe it will help them. The key component of the placebo effect is the power of belief; when individuals expect to feel better or improve as a result of an intervention, their mental state can lead to real physiological or psychological changes.

This concept is significant in various fields, including medicine, psychology, and by extension, music therapy. In practice, understanding the placebo effect allows music therapists to harness the power of a client’s expectations to enhance therapeutic outcomes, even when the specific intervention may not have direct therapeutic properties.

In contrast to the placebo effect, other terms in the options relate to different facets of psychological phenomena but do not specifically focus on the expectation of a treatment leading to change without real intervention. Expectation bias refers more broadly to how expectations can influence perceptions and outcomes, while outcome expectation specifically denotes anticipating a result based on prior experiences or learned behavior rather than on the actual impact of a treatment. Control effect is not a commonly recognized term in this context.