English Explanatory Dictionary

purple hat therapy

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun

Any medical practice in which an established form of therapy is combined with an unlikely new addition and is then claimed to be effective because of the new addition, when in fact the effectiveness is due to the established component.

Word forms

purple hat therapy purple hat therapies

Etymology

Coined in a 2003 paper by Gerald Rosen and Gerald Davison, from the idea of wearing a purple hat in addition to other treatment.

Synonyms

PHT

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