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Running header: PHENOMENOLOGY: ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Phenomenology: Article Analysis
Rodolfo Ramirez
EDCI 6300
Dr. Zhidong Zhang
University of Texas-Brownsville
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Running header: PHENOMENOLOGY: ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Phenomenology: Article Analysis
Introduction
What is phenomenology? Phenomenology is an approach to research which seeks to
describe one or more individuals’ consciousness and experiences of a particular phenomenon
(Johnson & Christensen, 2008). The ultimate purpose of phenomenological research is to obtain a
valid perspective into the research participants’ life-worlds and describe their personal meanings
relative to a particular phenomenon. Phenomenology is composed of meaning, structure, and
essence. Meaning is what something means to the participants. Structure is the uniqueness of an
individual’s experience which differs from other people experiencing the same phenomenon.
Essence is the commonality of the experience amongst participants (Johnson & Christensen,
2008).
The article “The Cognitive and Emotional Phenomenology of Depression and Anxiety:
Are Worry and Hopelessness the Cognitive Correlates of NA and PA?” by Beck, Perkins, Holder,
Robbins, Gray and Allison (2001) provides a phenomenological study examining the experiences
of 124 clients seeking medical help for depression and anxiety at Abilene Christian University’s
Counseling Center. The method used in the study required all participants to complete a battery of
tests that assessed cognitive content, both depressive and anxious, anxious and depressed
symptomatology, NA and PA, i.e. negative and positive affectivity, worry, and hopelessness
(Beck, et al., 2001). The following analysis provides the meaning, structure and essence of the
article and phenomenological study.
Meaning, Structure, Essence
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Running header: PHENOMENOLOGY: ARTICLE ANALYSIS
The research supporting the article initially suggests that anxiety is uniquely characterized
by future-oriented thoughts associated with potential harm or danger, whereas depression is
characterized by pessimistic and self-critical cognitions (Beck, et al., 2001). In the study, this
supplies the structures or unique conditions experienced by the participants, those suffering from
anxiety and those suffering from depression. The study, though, contrasts the effectiveness of this
existing set of structures to the structures of worry and hopelessness in attempts to provide clearer
links to negative and positive affectivities.
The research eventually indicates these structures and their correlations to PA and NA
were misjudged in prior research. The research indicates anxious cognitive content failed to
correlate uniquely with anxiety or NA (Beck, et al., 2001). This implies the structures or unique
relationship is different from that which is initially supplied. From this implication, the research
also draws the conclusion over the essence of the participants and the phenomenon. The research
concludes the cognitive content-specificity hypothesis needs to be modified to recognize that
anxious cognition is not truly unique to anxiety but is shared with depression. This is supported
by the finding that worry is a shared feature of depression and anxiety (Beck, et al., 2001). This
implies the prior established essence is changed and now dictates anxious cognition is part of the
shared experience amongst the participants.
The meaning of the phenomenon is also changes, though, in analyzing the sample
characteristics which indicated only cases of mild depression. This implies generalizations
stemming from the findings in the research cannot be made over clinically depressed and anxious
populations changing what the meaning is to the particular group of participants (Beck, et al.,
2001). Initially, the study posited supplying a meaning for individuals suffering from depression
and anxiety but did not specify degree. So, the group changes and so does the particular meaning.
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Running header: PHENOMENOLOGY: ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Ultimately, the research did imply, concerning the essence and structure of the participants, low
PA and hopeless cognition are unique to depressed states, whereas worry and high NA are shared
features of both anxiety and depression (Beck, et al., 2001). This illustrates the commonalities and
uniqueness of the participants.
Conclusion
This article is an example of how structure, meaning, and essence may be misjudged and
may even change after further research is completed. Here the addition of a new model, including
worry and hopelessness, changed the dynamic of the original structures which therein affected the
meanings and essence of the phenomenon. This implies that each part, i.e. structure, meaning, and
essence, is interdependent and closely related, and a change or inclusion of new factors or views,
perspectives, dramatically affects the defining and understanding of a particular phenomenon and
the status quo explanations.
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Running header: PHENOMENOLOGY: ARTICLE ANALYSIS
References
Johnson, B., & Christensen, L. B. (2008). Educational research, quantitative, qualitative, and
mixed approaches. Sage Publications, Inc.
Beck, R., Perkins, T. S., Holder, R., Robbins, M., Gray, M., & Allison, S. H. (2001). The
cognitive and emotional phenomenology of depression and anxiety: are worry and
hopelessness the cognitive correlates of NA and PA? Cognitive Therapy and Research,
25(6), 829-838.