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What Individuals Experience During Visuo-Spatial Working Memory Task Performance: An Exploratory Phenomenological

Aleš Oblak¹, Anka Slana Ozimič², Grega Repovš²

¹Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychopathology, University Psychiatric Hospital Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Frontiers in Psychology

|June 6, 2022

Summary

This study reveals that cognitive tasks elicit rich subjective experiences beyond just behavioral data. Understanding these phenomena, particularly background feelings, is crucial for accurately interpreting cognitive psychology research.

Keywords:

background feelings constructivist grounded theory empirical phenomenology psychological task visuo-spatial working memory

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Phenomenology
Experimental Psychology

Background:

Experimental cognitive psychology often relies on behavioral measures (reaction times, accuracy) from tasks.
The subjective experience (phenomenology) during task performance is often overlooked.
Understanding participant experience can validate if tasks elicit intended cognitive phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the range of subjective experiences during cognitive task performance.
To investigate the distinction between conscious phenomena and background feelings.
To discuss the methodological implications of phenomenological data in cognitive research.

Main Methods:

Employed in-depth phenomenological and qualitative methodology.
Gathered subjective reports during a visuo-spatial change detection task.
31 participants performed memory recall tasks for colors, orientations, or positions.

Main Results:

Qualitative reports indicated diverse experiential landscapes during task performance.
Identified two main classes of experience: phenomena at the front of consciousness and background feelings.
Background feelings encompass subtle aspects like bodily sensations, mood, and emotional atmosphere.

Conclusions:

Subjective experiences, especially background feelings, provide valuable insights into cognitive task performance.
Phenomenological data can enhance the interpretation of behavioral findings in cognitive psychology.
Future research should integrate qualitative methods to better understand the subjective dimension of cognition.