Phenomenological control as cold control.
Zoltan Dienes, Peter Lush, Bence Pálfi, Warrick Roseboom, R. B. Y. Scott, Benjamin A. Parris, Anil K. Seth, Max Lovell
Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice June 25, 2020 DOI: 10.1037/cns0000230 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Cognitive psychology Control management Context archaeology Hypnosis Metacognition Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 42 |
| Key points | Argues that hypnotizability reflects a general trait of phenomenological control, which is a metacognitive process involving intentional action without awareness of intentions, and that phenomena like vicarious pain and mirror-touch synesthesia are partly constructions of this control. |
Abstract
We first review recent work from our laboratory, which construes hypnotizability as an example of a more general trait of capacity for phenomenological control, which people can use to create subjective experiences in many nonhypnotic contexts where those experiences fulfill people's goals. Second, we review recent work, which construes phenomenological control as a specifically metacognitive process, where intentional cognitive and motor action occurs without awareness of specific intentions (cold control theory). In terms of the reach of phenomenological control, we argue that various laboratory phenomena, namely vicarious pain, mirror-touch synesthesia, and the rubber hand illusion are to an unknown degree a construction of phenomenological control. The argument can of course be extended in principle to other findings. In terms of the reach of cold control, we present a new theory of intentional binding and show how intentional binding can measure the absence of conscious intentions in the hypnotic context. We obtain no evidence that cold control confers abilities beyond the changes in the metacognitive monitoring it postulates, and we explore the negative correlation between mindfulness and cold control viewed as a lack of mindfulness of intentions.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Trait phenomenological control predicts experience of mirror synaesthesia and the rubber hand illusion Nature Communications September 25, 2020
- Extensive Phenomenological Overlap between Induced and Naturally-Occurring Synaesthetic Experiences bioRxiv Preprint Server August 3, 2020
- Phenomenological-control framing of suggestion-based interventions: a testable hypothesis for acceptability and implementation in psychiatric care. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2026
- Editorial: Insights in consciousness research 2021. Frontiers in Psychology April 20, 2023
Cites 5
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Editorial: Open science in consciousness research Neuroscience of Consciousness December 13, 2019
- The Sussex-Waterloo Scale of Hypnotizability (SWASH): measuring capacity for altering conscious experience. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2018
- Metacognition of intentions in mindfulness and hypnosis. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2016
- Using suggestion to modulate automatic processes: from Stroop to McGurk and beyond. Cortex September 10, 2012