The Role of Expectations in Experimentally Induced Sadness

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02848352

Enrollment

128

Registered

2016-07-28

Start date

2016-06-30

Completion date

2016-10-31

Last updated

2017-04-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Healthy Participants

Brief summary

The study aimed at identifying whether different expectations have an impact on experiencing emotions in the form of sadness.

Interventions

OTHERPlacebo nasal spray

OTHERFilm Sequence

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

18 Years to 40 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* fluent in German language

Exclusion criteria

* major depression * current intake of psychotropic medication * drug intake within the last two weeks * alcohol consumption within the last twelve hours * allergic to capsaicin * allergic to sesame oil * students in medicine, pharmacy, or psychology in their third year or older

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Sadness (PANAS-X)	Directly after watching the film sequence, no follow-up assessments

Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026