Experience of Responding to Imaginative Suggestions: A Micro-Phenomenological Interview Exploratory Study.

The micro-phenomenological interview technique was used to explore the moment-to-moment experiences of people responding to imaginative suggestions designed to temporarily alter their perception of reality. Seven participants received three suggestions each and were interviewed, generating four hypotheses. Testing these with six new participants supported three: moderate responders used goal-directed fantasies while high responders did not; low responders did not report active sabotage; and both high and moderate responders appeared unaware they were generating the suggested behaviors and cognitions. These findings require confirmation in a quantitative study and may inform understanding of the mechanisms behind phenomenological control.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The micro-phenomenological interview is a technique for investigating phenomenology in detail during an activity lasting seconds to minutes. Here, we applied it to understanding the moment-to-moment experiences of subjects responding to imaginative suggestions that were aimed at temporarily altering perceived reality through deployment of phenomenological control. Our intention was to generate novel hypotheses that could be tested in a future study. We presented three suggestions individually to seven participants, and then interviewed them about their experiences, with the qualitative findings generating four independent hypotheses. We repeated the process with six new participants and found that the data supported three of the hypotheses. These were that although moderate responses involved goal-directed fantasies, high responses appeared to not; that responses scored low did not involve reports of active sabotage; and that high and moderate responders do not appear to be aware they are generating the suggested behavior and cognitions. These hypotheses will need confirming for generalizability with a quantitative study. If confirmed, these results will bear on the mechanisms underpinning phenomenological control.