Phenomenological Research Needs to be Renewed: Time to Integrate Enactivism as a Flexible Resource

Abstract

Qualitative research approaches under the umbrella of phenomenology are becoming overly prescriptive and dogmatic (e.g., excessive and unnecessary focus on the epoché and reduction). There is a need for phenomenology (as a qualitative research approach) to be renewed and refreshed with opportunities for methodological flexibility. In this process paper, we offer one way this could be achieved. We provide an overview of the emerging paradigm of post-cognitivism and the aligned movement of enactivism which has roots in phenomenology and embodied cognition. We argue that enactivism can be used as a flexible resource by qualitative researchers exploring the unfolding of first-person (subjective) experience and its meanings (i.e., the enactive concept of sense-making). Enactive approaches are commonly tethered to “E-based” theory, such as the idea that sense-making is a 5E process (Embodied, Embedded, Enacted, Emotive, and Extended). We suggest that enactivism and E-based theory can inform phenomenological research in eclectic and non-prescriptive ways, including integration with existing methods such as observation/interviews and thematic analysis with hybrid deductive-inductive coding. Enactivism-informed phenomenological research moves beyond methodological individualism and can inform novel qualitative research exploring the complex, dynamic, and context-sensitive nature of sense-making. We draw from our enactive study that explored the co-construction of pain-related meanings between clinicians and patients, while also offering other ways that enactive theory could be applied. We provide a sample interview guide and codebook, as well as key components of rigor to consider when designing, conducting, and reporting a trustworthy phenomenological study using enactive theory.

Placebo From an Enactive Perspective

“…The enactive approach provides a framework for generating explanations and new hypotheses, but not at the expense of abstractions that rely on a desire for one-size-fits-all single principles. Phenomenological methods (Stilwell and Harman, 2021), ethnomethodology (Hutchinson and Moerman, 2018), meta-ethnographic techniques , and further developments in embodied and dynamical systems approaches in cognitive science will also be necessary for the understanding of meaningful interactions in a relational and situated manner, both within the therapeutic context and beyond. Results and methodologies from diverse fields (including first-, second-, and third-person approaches) must be combined, looking at embodied activity in performing agents at different scales and dimensions, and taking into account subpersonal, personal, and collective processes.…”

“…Given the insights provided by a few phenomenological studies already performed on placebo (such as the work by Kelley et al, 2009), we find it advisable to include phenomenological methods to investigate both individual experiences of patients and practitioners, and interactive experiences in placebo research (e.g., Langdridge, 2007;Davidsen, 2013). We find especially useful the proposal for enactive-informed phenomenological methods (Stilwell and Harman, 2021).…”

“…Depending on the condition under investigation, empirical work on placebo could be complemented with questionnaires (to assess pain, self-efficacy, moods, anxiety) and interviews with different kinds of openness and structure to better grasp individual experiences and narratives. These could help unveil emotional variations and pre-reflective phenomena previously unnoticed (Stilwell and Harman, 2021) and allow a more detailed account of expectations and different kinds of hope (Eaves et al, 2016). Studies could also be complemented with diverse measures to track bodily activity associated with emotional experiences (e.g., heart rate variability, skin conductance) and eye-tracking methods to investigate attentional patterns, for instance, after an injury associated with pain and movement limitations.…”

Embodiment in online psychotherapy: A qualitative study

“…For doing so, we adopt a phenomenological stance (Galbusera & Fellin, 2014) to assess the experience of participants at the pre‐reflective and implicit level. We use interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009), a qualitative method that combines phenomenology and hermeneutics fostering a dialogue between participants’ first person experience and enactive theory (Larkin, Eatough, & Osborn, 2011; Stilwell & Harman, 2021).…”

Understanding Selfhood to Elucidate the Phenomenology of Mindfulness

“…Conversely, recent attempts have been made to inform phenomenological qualitative research through 4E approaches to mind (e.g. Stillwell and Harman (2021)). There is thus theoretical and practical affinity between phenomenology and 4E philosophy, encapsulated by the ongoing mutually illuminating dialogue between the two.…”