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The Descriptive Experience Sampling method

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences volume 5, pages 271–301 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) is a method for exploring inner experience. DES subjects carry a random beeper in natural environments; when the beep sounds, they capture their inner experience, jot down notes about it, and report it to an investigator in a subsequent expositional interview. DES is a fundamentally idiographic method, describing faithfully the pristine inner experiences of persons. Subsequently, DES can be used in a nomothetic way to describe the characteristics of groups of people who share some common characteristic. This paper describes DES and compares it to Petitmengin’s [Phenomenol Cogn Sci, this issue] second-person interview method.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway MS 5030, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-5030, USA

    Russell T. Hurlburt & Sarah A. Akhter

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  1. Russell T. Hurlburt
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  2. Sarah A. Akhter
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Correspondence to Russell T. Hurlburt.

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Hurlburt, R.T., Akhter, S.A. The Descriptive Experience Sampling method. Phenom Cogn Sci 5, 271–301 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-006-9024-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-006-9024-0

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