Exam 7: Researching the Phenomena of Conscious Experience

An art therapist wants to conduct a heuristic study on her memory of a near-death experience. Which of the following strategies is best for increasing rigor and maximizing the value of the study?

Match the question to the correct research method. -What is the experience of bereavement for a recently widowed client?

Which of the following is framed as a phenomenological research question?

What is the hermeneutic circle and how it is conducted?

Write a hermeneutic dialogue for an imaginary session between you and an art image that you or someone else has created. Write the dialogue as if the artwork has a voice and can respond to you.

Explain: "stories are the parts-plot, motif, connection, feelings -that make understanding and meaning possible."

Match the question to the correct research method. -What does the artwork of a recently widowed client communicate about the meaning of bereavement in her life?

Which of the following interpretivist methodologies is the best choice for a study about how children with autism perceive their art therapist?

Apply Moon's process of phenomenological analysis with a partner, using a dream or an artwork.

Match the question to the correct research method. -What can a recently widowed client discover about the impact of bereavement on her life?

Practice "epoche" by writing a detailed description of a common experience-such as a snowstorm or a high school reunion-from the non-judgmental perspective of an extraterrestrial who has just arrived from outer space. Observe the "attitudinal shift" that clears ordinary thought.

Design a small-scale heuristic inquiry on a topic that can be explored with clients through art-making and self-inquiry.

Apply the phenomenological data reduction process of "imaginal variation" as follows: List all the elements that define art therapy to determine its essence. Then test each element by imagining whether art therapy could still be defined as such if the element were eliminated or if it were varied.

What is tacit awareness?

Re-write a case report of your choosing using the narrative structure of a graphic novel or screenplay.

Because heuristics is subjective, how does a researcher know whether the findings are valid?

Define the term epoche and how it is used in phenomenological inquiry

Why would an art therapist be interested in conducting heuristic inquiry? How might it contribute something of value to the profession?

An art therapist conducts an outcomes study to confirm that life review is effective in reducing anxiety in older adults. How would the study be affected if it were modified as a phenomenological study?

Do you agree with the author's contention that self-inquiry must not be conducted alone?