Expanding Microphenomenology: The Researcher-as-Obstacle Approach to Continuous Phenomena
Raphaël Julliard, Damien Roy, Marion Botella
January 8, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/g7nmf_v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | Professional artist |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Pretext Experiential learning Process computing Bounded function Feature linguistics Sampling signal processing Adaptation eye Epistemology Artificial intelligence Cognitive psychology Term time Duration music Context archaeology |
| Key findings | The Researcher-as-Obstacle framework, by introducing timed interruptions during a pretext experience, obtains multiple anchored samples of recurrent experiential patterns in continuous phenomena, whereas standard micro-phenomenology struggles to temporally anchor such dynamics. |
Abstract
Investigating phenomena that practitioners experience as continuous, without clear beginning or end, poses a challenge for standard micro-phenomenology, which reconstructs short, bounded episodes retrospectively. This article introduces the Researcher-as-Obstacle (RAO) framework and protocol as a structural adaptation for such cases. RAO organizes a pretext experience that genuinely mobilizes the continuous process of interest, and the researcher introduces precisely timed interruptions eliciting immediate micro-phenomenological evocations. Each interruption is retrospective with respect to the micro-event yet functions as real-time sampling within the unfolding pretext experience.A case study with a professional artist who completed both a standard retrospective interview and an RAO session illustrates the contrast. Standard micro-phenomenology reveals fine-grained experiential content but struggles to temporally anchor the regulative dynamic of the “creative engine.” RAO, by contrast, sacrifices exhaustive diachrony to obtain multiple anchored samples of recurrent patterns, such as the search for a “feeling of life.”RAO thereby extends micro-phenomenology to practitioner-defined continuous phenomena while preserving evocation, pre-reflective access, and experiential validity.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| How does it feel to lack a sense of boundaries? A case study of a long-term mindfulness meditator. A single long-term mindfulness practitioner (S) with 40 years of practice in... | 2015 | Qualitative case study | n = 1 |
| An extended case study on the phenomenology of sequence-space synesthesia Single adult with sequence-space synesthesia | 2014 | Phenomenological case study | n = 1 |
| "I can't tell whether it's my hand": a pilot study of the neurophenomenology of body representation during the rubber hand illusion in trauma-related disorders. Individuals with the dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 2016 | Case series | n = 3 |
| Neurophenomenology of an Altered State of Consciousness: An fMRI Case Study. A single research participant with self-proclaimed ecstatic Kundalini meditative... | 2016 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Multimodal neurophenomenology of advanced concentration absorption meditation: An intensively sampled case study of Jhana. One advanced meditator with over 23,000 hours of meditation practice | 2024 | Case study | n = 1 |