The sense of certainty and the reliability of first person reports

An investigation using micro‐phenomenological self‐inquiry

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21391866
AutoresTerje Sparby (0000-0001-5721-0066, Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy University of Witten/Herdecke Witten Germany, autor de correspondencia), Friedrich Edelhäuser (0000-0001-7900-188X, Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Psychology (ICURAP) University of Witten/Herdecke Witten Germany), Ulrich Weger (0000-0002-5476-0932, Witten/Herdecke University), Ulrich W Weger (0000-0001-6803-6155, Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy University of Witten/Herdecke Witten Germany)
Año2020
Volumen61
Número6
Páginas775-783
Fecha de publicación2020-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaScandinavian Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0036-5564 • E-ISSN: 1467-9450
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sjop.12671
OpenAlexW3046433536
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas11

The reliability of introspective or first‐person reports has often been questioned. Micro‐phenomenology is a method that has been devised to increase the reliability of such reports. One way of showing that the method actually increases reliability is to test it in experiments where reporting can be checked by an external observer. Though such approaches are highly valuable, the problem remains that the actual experience cannot be investigated directly by external means. This justifies the complimentary approach of developing internal criteria for evaluating first‐person reports. Here we investigate the sense of certainty as a possible internal criterion. We employed the technique of micro‐phenomenological self‐inquiry to investigate the characteristics of this internal sense. A mind‐wandering task was conducted that repeatedly leads to situations in which certainty and uncertainty in relation to past mental events and descriptions can be experienced. These situations were explored in a number of trials until a certain set of characteristics of the sense of certainty emerged. The result is a methodical procedure to enhance the reliability of first‐person reports

Certainty · Cognitive psychology · Epistemology · Introspection · Phenomenology (philosophy) · Reliability (semiconductor) · Mental Health Research Topics · Mind wandering and attention · Pain Management and Placebo Effect · Psychology · Social Psychology