Phenomenological Psychology

In this essay I will explore some of the counter-measures one can adopt in response to social influence. I will start off by defining social influence and the three main types of behavior it comprises. I then will identify several steps one can take to counteract it. I will conclude with three real-world case studies [...]

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Self-Justification Self-justification. People are motivated to justify their own actions, beliefs and feelings by convincing themselves (and others) that it was a logical, reasonable thing to do. Cognitive dissonance. A state of tension that occurs whenever an individual simultaneously holds two cognitions (ideas, attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are psychologically inconsistent. Foot-in-the-door technique. The process of [...]

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Anorexia There is no shortage of pop culture illustrations about phenomenological psychology. Consider for example a woman with anorexia, in the general category of those now prominently featured on the television show “Intervention” (2008). Currently in its fifth season, ‘Intervention’ … tricks dope fiends, alcoholics and a host of more inventive abusers into believing they [...]

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A more appropriate approach to phenomenological psychology is the one taken by J. H. Van den Berg in his book The Phenomenological Approach to Psychiatry (1955), Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, republished as A Different Existence – Principles of Phenomenological Psychopathology, Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press. Van den Berg describes a patient/client whose “complaints refer [...]

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There is no shortage in the academic literature of misinformation about phenomenological psychology, its methods and objectives. Illustrative is A Primer in Phenomenological Psychology by Ernest Keen (1975), Lanham, MD: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc. Keen starts with a lengthy exegesis about his five year-old daughter (now surely in her late 30s). She experienced some [...]

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The following two case studies are based on the book The Life Span – Human Development for Helping Professionals (2006, 2nd ed.) by Patriia C. Broderick and Pamela Blewitt. There also are occasional references to The Six Stages of Parenthood by Ellen Galinsky. Case Study # 1 – Chapter 4 – p. 142 Synopsis of [...]

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1. Are there separate personalities, or is it different aspects of one personality? The main item of curiosity about MPD is that they all inhabit one physical corporeal body. Are there any studies with monozygotic twins where one has it and the other doesn’t? 2. Are there any conditions of brain abnormality that give rise [...]

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What Is Social Psychology? Social psychology. Social psychology is the scientific study of the feelings, thoughts and behavior of individuals in social situations. Social influence. Social influence is the myriad ways that people impact one another, including changes in attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and behavior that result from the comments, actions or even the mere presence [...]

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What types of children behaviors demonstrate Piaget’s “preoperational stage” and his “concrete operational stage? What is the relationship between these two stages identified by Piaget and Erikson’s “initiative v. guilt” or “industry v. inferiority” stages? What behaviors show teachers or caregivers to be in Erikson’s “generativity v. stagnation” stage? To address these questions I conducted [...]

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The diagnosis “multiple personality disorder” or “dissociative identity disorder” is a misnomer because it overlooks the context within which personality occurs. Personality does not happen in a vacuum. It is a component element of a consistent phenomenological world with objects, other people, roles, behavior, conventions and other world-like attributes. Thinking that personalities exist separate from [...]

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