Phenomenological psychology
Phenomenological psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on understanding human experiences through the lens of phenomenology, which studies subjective experiences as perceived by individuals. This field explores how people interpret their surroundings and events, delving into their "lifeworlds" and the unique meanings they attribute to their experiences. Rooted in the works of philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Edmund Husserl, phenomenological psychology emphasizes the importance of introspection and the internal perspective, distinguishing itself from more traditional natural science approaches to psychology.
Key concepts in this field include "qualia," which refers to individual sensory experiences and perceptions, prompting questions about whether different people experience stimuli, like colors or sounds, in the same way. Despite its focus on the subjective, phenomenological psychology also considers broader aspects of human experience, such as the existence of shared perceptions and the nature of reality itself. This duality allows for explorations of interpersonal topics like empathy, ultimately contributing to a richer understanding of both individual and collective human experiences. While phenomenological psychology has faced criticism for its introspective methods, its influence has permeated contemporary psychology, particularly in humanistic approaches.
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Phenomenological psychology
Phenomenological psychology is a field of psychological study that uses ideas and methods of phenomenology to examine questions about the experiences that make up life. Phenomenology is the study of subjective experience, or experience that is perceived by an individual in their own unique way. The roots of phenomenological psychology can be traced to ancient times and the earliest reflections on the human mind and the experiences that constitute life. The method of phenomenological psychology was mainly created by German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). Later, a major trend in psychological study of the same name was founded primarily by German philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859–1938). Despite some controversy and criticism, this psychological movement became an influential school of thought in the early twentieth century.
Brief History
Since the beginning of humankind, people have questioned the nature of the mind and the experiences that make up human life. Many early theories in psychology, as well as in philosophy, involved aspects of phenomenological psychology because they dealt with the study of subjective experience—basically, what a person believes they are sensing and feeling, how they interpret this information, and the validity of this interpretation. These theories were based mainly on introspection, or a deep examination of one's feelings and thoughts.
Although many people and theories have contributed to phenomenological psychology over thousands of years, the actual nature of this kind of study developed mainly in modern times and is surrounded by disagreement and controversy. In the twenty-first century, many psychologists define the term in different ways, leading to a variety of different understandings of its nature. Adding to the hard-to-define nature of phenomenological psychology is the fact that the term can be used to describe a method of psychology or a movement among psychologists.
The phenomenological psychology method was developed mainly by German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Later, another German philosopher, Edmund Husserl, used the established method to found a psychological movement of the same name. (A movement is a trend or goal that is followed by a large number of people within a particular field.)
Many other psychologists and philosophers contributed to the development of the underlying concepts and method, as well as its eventual evolution into a movement. Some of these figures included German theologian Christoph Friedrich Oetinger (1702–1782), psychologist Wilhelm Dilthey (1833–1911), and philosophers Franz Brentano (1838–1917) and Martin Heidegger (1889–1976). Heidegger pointed out that the term phenomenology can be traced back to the writings of Aristotle, one of the foremost philosophers and scientists of Ancient Greece.
The phenomenological psychology movement spread across the world in the early twentieth century. Proponents such as French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961) and French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) spread phenomenological concepts in many forms and raised public interest in that form of psychology. Later, the spreading ideas of phenomenological psychology helped to develop new schools and fields of contemporary psychology as well as to contribute to existing schools, such as humanistic psychology.
The popularity of phenomenological psychology faced criticism, however. Much of this criticism arose among psychologists who believed that psychological answers could best be discovered through scientific measurements and experiments rather than by introspection into the subjective experiences of individuals.
Overview
Phenomenology, in its most basic terms, is the study of the individual human's subjective life experiences. This has become a field of psychology meant to explore the nature of reality via the study of people's experiences within their "lifeworlds." These experiences involve how a person absorbs, interprets, and makes sense of their surroundings as well as events they observe. In other words, this field of psychology studies how humans perceive their "being in the world." Psychologists undergo these studies by describing experiences and reactions and attempting to determine how they relate not only to an individual but also to humanity and the nature of reality.
One early distinction made in the field of phenomenological psychology was between two major fields of psychological study: natural and human. Many prior psychological methods tried to study human reactions to the world through natural science. They tried to answer mysteries of humans from the outside inward. In phenomenological psychology, the focus is more on human science—moving from the inside outward.
One of the important facets of human science, the qualia, is an essential aspect of phenomenological psychology. A qualia is a human's internal reaction to a sensual stimulant, such as a smell, color, or sound. Phenomenological psychologists ask whether people experience these stimuli in similar ways and why or why not. A classic example of this involves the color red: is one person's qualia for "redness" the same as that of another person? Much of phenomenological psychology deals with this question and the difficulty of describing, evaluating, and comparing people's experiences.
Although much of phenomenological psychology focuses on the subjective, unique perceptions and experiences of each individual, it also has a much broader aspect. As with the redness example, a major question is whether people's qualia are unique or whether they share commonalities with other people's qualia. Examining such questions can help to illustrate just how individual people really are or whether their deepest workings are tied into universal commonalities. Do people create their own realities, or does a set objective reality help to create people? In this sense, phenomenological psychology studies both subjective and objective perceptions. It can also shed light on interpersonal topics within psychology and philosophy, such as empathy.
Bibliography
Beyer, Christian. "Edmund Husserl." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 17 Oct. 2022, plato.stanford.edu/entries/husserl. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
Davidsen, Annette S. "Phenomenological Approaches in Psychology and Health Sciences." Qualitative Research in Psychology, vol. 10, no. 3, 2013, p. 318, doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2011.608466. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
Englander, Magnus, and James Morley. "Phenomenological Psychology and Qualitative Research." Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, vol. 22, no. 1, 2023, pp. 25-53. Springer Link, doi:10.1007/s11097-021-09781-8. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
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Langdridge, Darren. Phenomenological Psychology: Theory, Research and Method. Pearson Education, 2007.
Scalambrino, Frank. "Phenomenological Psychology." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu/phen-psy. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
Spinelli, Ernesto. The Interpreted World: An Introduction to Phenomenological Psychology. 2nd ed., SAGE Publications, 2005.
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