1
How does IPA draw on phenomenology and hermeneutics?
● The person as a "self-interpreting being"
● Attending to how events and objects appear to persons in experience
● Understanding the meaning of events and objects from the perspective of the person
● Sense-making as a familiar activity carried out systematically by the researcher
● Interpretative activity as a double hermeneutic
● Dual mode of interpretation: empathic and interrogative
2
What is IPA's relationship with cognitive psychology and discursive psychology?
● IPA and cognitive psychology share a concern with understanding the relationship between what people think, say and do
● IPA and discursive psychology recognize the importance of language in constructing reality
● Unlike cognitive psychology, IPA emphasizes meaning
● Unlike discursive psychology, IPA does not view language as the primary constructor of reality
3
What is the value of the case study for IPA?
● A focus on the particular rather than the universal
● A focus on the subjective lived experiences of the person
● Enables a rich understanding of the topic of investigation
● Studying the person can illuminate more general and shared themes
● Crucial for a full psychological understanding
● Rewards the researcher
