The scope of unconscious processing remains hotly debated, driven by diverse methods for manipulating and measuring perceptual awareness. Through dialogue among researchers with varied theoretical backgrounds, ten recommendations and nine outstanding issues are provided for designing experimental paradigms, analyzing data, and reporting results. These guidelines aim to evoke discussion about norms in studying unconscious processes and help researchers make informed decisions. While some recommendations may not align with existing approaches and will likely evolve, they are intended to foster a more convergent understanding of the extent and limits of unconscious processing.
Hypnosis is one manifestation of a broader human capacity called phenomenological control: an evolved ability to deceive oneself to support socially useful beliefs. This capacity allows people to strategically construct subjective experiences that misrepresent reality despite contradictory evidence, in order to meet goals. It is so effective that researchers studying it have often been deceived, mistaking participants' constructed experiences—such as feeling energies or special states—for the mechanism itself. Phenomenological control is used in spirit possession, spiritual experiences, esoteric martial arts, everyday life, and psychology experiments.