Deck 7: Researching the Phenomena of Conscious Experience

Question 1

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

A) Phenomenological inquiry
B) Heuristic inquiry
C) Hermeneutic inquiry

Answer 1

A

Question 2

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

A) Phenomenological inquiry
B) Heuristic inquiry
C) Hermeneutic inquiry

Answer 2

B

Question 3

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?

A) Phenomenological inquiry
B) Heuristic inquiry
C) Hermeneutic inquiry

Answer 3

C

Question 4

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

A) What are the most essential symptoms of abuse that an art therapy program for women may ameliorate?
B) Why is it essential to provide a safe space for adult women who have been abused?
C) What is the essence of safe space as experienced by women who have been abused?
D) What do the stories of women who have been abused reveal about their experiences?

Question 5

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

Question 6

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?

A) The focus would shift from confirming treatment outcomes to exploring the nature of the life review experience.
B) The art therapist would interpret the artworks produced instead of interpreting the standardized assessment scores.
C) The art therapist would focus on the phenomenon of anxiety instead of the effect of treating it with art therapy.
D) The outcomes would shift from reducing anxiety to exploring the personal meaning of anxiety through the process of life review.

Question 7

What is tacit awareness?

A) A kind of awareness in which the researcher tacitly agrees with the meaning a participant gives to an artwork or experience.
B) A kind of awareness that is cultivated by focusing only on subjective feelings about an experience
C) A kind of awareness that uncovers hidden aspects that are only subliminally known about an experience
D) A kind of awareness that is unspoken but understood between the researcher and the subject or participant in the study

Question 8

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

A) The findings aren't valid because validity only applies to objective or quantitative studies.
B) The findings are valid because only the researcher knows what is valid in the context of his or her essential experiences.
C) Validity itself is a subjective concept that post-empirical science has called into question.
D) The findings are valid if they comprehensively and accurately portray the meanings of the experience being studied.

Question 9

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?

A) Set up a weekly schedule of artmaking to accompany the process of self-inquiry.
B) Include interviews and expressive art from co-participants who also had a near-death experience and ask them to review the data analysis for accuracy.
C) Modify the question so that it is about how the near-death experience affects her life today rather than only her memory of the event.
D) Seek professional help to discover the meaning of the experience before conducting an inquiry of this nature.

Question 10

What is the hermeneutic circle and how it is conducted?

A) A research method that is conducted like a reciprocal conversation between the researcher and the object that is being interpreted
B) A research method that interprets an artwork or object by reflecting on the subjective reactions of the researcher when turning it in different directions
C) A research method that moves in a circular direction, taking turns to interpret each element in an artwork in turn
D) A research method where a client and researcher empathically listen to each other and complete the circle of their understanding with an artwork

Question 11

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

A) Phenomenological, because it will help the therapist discover what their experience of art therapy is really like
B) Heuristic, because the therapist can only discover how autistic children perceive someone by reflecting on her own relationship with them
C) Hermeneutic, because a dialogue between the children and the therapist achieves a valuable treatment goal
D) Narrative, because it will help the children communicate with stories about something they cannot explain with art alone

Question 12

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

Question 13

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.

Question 14

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.

Question 15

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

Question 16

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

Question 17

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

Question 18

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

Question 19

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.

Question 20

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