That doesn't explain why traditional medicines are stacking up shorter against placebos. If there was an increased belief amongst study participants that they

That doesn't explain why traditional medicines are stacking up shorter against placebos. If there was an increased belief amongst study participants that they would get better regardless of what they were given, the placebo effect would be just as strong for those who got the real medication. That is, if the medication is 50% effective and the placebo is 30% effective, then those who got the real medication would obtain some benefit both from the medication itself, as well as from the belief that they would gain some benefit from the placebo (which they don't know they didn't get).