MEASURING PHENOMENAL ACCURACY: AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF A PHENOMENOLOGICAL METHOD

Abstract

Forty undergraduates wrote descriptions of personal experiences of self-deception. Procedures adapted from a phenomenological method were used to develop individual situated structural descriptions and a general description under three conditions of participant self-reflection (low, medium or standard, and high). Participants completed the Phenomenal Accuracy Ratings (PAR) for both descriptions. The level of self-reflection used in standard phenomenological method produced the most accurate descriptions. The general descriptions were rated as less accurate than the situated structural descriptions. Results demonstrated the usefulness of the PAR for measuring the phenomenal accuracy of qualitative descriptions of experience. Strategies are proposed for using the PAR to study (a) the commonality vs. individuality in experience and (b) the relation of individual differences to behavior.