The role of phenomenological control in experience

in press, Current Directions in Psychological Science, People have to varying degrees the capacity to alter subjective experience such that it misrepresents reality in ways consistent with goals, and such that the misrepresentation can be sustained over at least minutes despite clear contrary evidence. That is, people have a capacity for phenomenological control. People can use the capacity to fulfill requirements of social situations or personal needs. One prominent such situation is hypnosis. But there are others. A situation that psychologists often place people in is the psychological experiment, where it is often clear to subjects what experiences are desired. Situations in life may also call for certain experiences, for example, encountering a spiritual world according to one’s religious beliefs. These experiences can be constructed so that they seem to confirm the beliefs of all those involved.