Phenomenological Project Essay Example
Phenomenological Project Essay Example

Phenomenological Project Essay Example

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A phenomenological study of individuals experience positively long term friendship Abstract How do individuals experience positively long term friendship? The aim of this study is to show what long term friendship means to people and how important the long term friendship is. The study reports data from semi-structure interviews with two female participants, which was analysed using interpretive phenomenological psychologist method. This project examines how long term friendship is experienced and what are the individual’s expectations from long term friendship.

First the analysis demonstrates the expectation of a long-term friendship this include sharing, trusting each other, honesty and communication with friends. Then it looked at the existence of friendship this includes needing a friend when feeling stressed, friend and family members, going to holiday and having different friends. Finally the analysis demonstrates benefits and neg

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atives of having long-term friendship this include sharing and finding solutions and negative side of friends and friends can turn their back.Introduction This project relates to close relationship it looks at how long-term friendship developed and how it feels to have long-term friendship. Close relationship considers how others expectations can take the control of the relationship therefore the social network could affect the decision of individuals . Four articles will be used in this study to see if the finding is relevant.

‘What are friends for? Student’s expectations of the friendship encounter’.This article found that students goes to their friends when having problems instead of going to university counselling and that close friends are the first choice for people when dealing with personal problems because they believe their personal expectations will be met by their friends. The participants were certain that their friends

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will be genuine, trustworthy and accepting characteristics.

This article will be used to see whether participant goes to their close friends when they need any sort of help and if they trust them. Allocentrism and friendship satisfaction: the mediating roles of disclosure and closeness’. This article indicates that personal attributes are important for affective, cognitive and behavioural processes friendship. It was found that the higher individuals allocentrism score is the more they disclosing to their friend and friend disclosing back to them. It found that the closer they are in relationship the more satisfied they are with their friends. (Morry,2005) This article will be used with this study to see whether the participants found their close friendship more satisfying and whether they disclose to their close friends.

Measuring friendship quality in late adolescents and young adults: McGill friendship questionnaire’. This article identified six functions that were found from long-term friendship which were stimulating companionship, help, intimacy, reliable alliance, self validation and emotional security. In this article participants who reported on longstanding friends tended to rate the friend more positively satisfied with the friendship and they rated their longstanding friend higher on the friendship functions.It also found that close friendship showed more self-esteem. (mendelsun et al,1999). This article will be used to see whether participant tended to rate their close friends more positively and whether the six functions from this article are mentioned by the participant.

A longitudinal study of friendship development’ this article found that the participants who successfully developed a close friendship showed different behavioural and attitudinal trends compared to dyads that did not. The close dyads showed attitudinal ratings of friendship intensity constantly.As a result this

article found that as friendship develops the friendship bond may be less dependent on quantity behaviour and it’s more responsive for the quality of interaction. Also it showed a greater amount of benefit accruing from their friendship and it tended to increase as their friendship developed. The provision of companionship and a confidant were the most benefit of close friends.

This article will be used to see whether participants who has close friendship shows a greater amount of benefit accruing from their friendship and whether this is increasing as their friendship develops.This study is going to investigate experiences of individuals in long-term friendship. It will focus on what individual feels about friendship, what elements are necessary for a successful friendship, whether friendship is important for the participant, if so why they are important and what are their expectation from their long-term friends for their friendship to survive longer. , two separate participants will be interviewed this will allow the researcher to explore how participants makes sense of their world and meaning they ttribute to personal experiences. This study is expected to show that participants would believe long-term friendship is important for them and that they will share, love, trust, believe their long-term friends more.

This study will be carried out using phenomenological perspective phenomenological perspective is a term used in philosophy to denote enquiry into one’s conscious and particularly intellectual processes. There are two distinct groups of phenomenological psychologist which are descriptive and interpretive. Phenomenology uses the concept of bracketing to maintain objectivity; this involves putting aside the researchers experience and approach to the data with no preconception about the phenomenon. This project will use interpretive phenomenological

psychologist’s method because it provides more powerful tool for understanding human nature and it recognises the reflexive role of the researcher in the production of knowledge. This perspective will focus on the meaningfulness of experience itself because this perspective believes that individuals are actively involved in meaning making (intentionality).In phenomenology epistemonology is the study of knowledge; its conditions, its boundaries and its possibilities.

While ontology is the study of existence and the nature of being . This project looks at how participants experienced and how they interpret those experiences by focusing on understanding what is going on in terms of structure of the lifeworlds (temporality, spatiality, intersubjectivity and embodiment).  Method Design and participant For this project the appropriate methodology was interviewing two separate participants because this study is based on a phenomenological perspective.This perspective looks at how people make sense of the world and how they experience events. Using two separate participants is more effective to understand participant’s feelings, emotions, attitudes and beliefs. This study used interpretive phenomenological psychologist method because it provides more powerful tool for understanding human nature.

Therefore it looks at what is going on in terms of structures of the lifeworld. This design was the most appropriate method for this project as the researcher was looking at the experiences of positively long-term friendship. The participant recruited was friend’s friend.The researcher asked friends if they have any friends that are willing to participate in this project. Two female participants was then selected and recruited. One was31 years old who had 2 children and is a housewife.

The other participant was 27 years old, she was single and she was a student in a university. Interview

Method of data collection was semi structured interview. Semi-structured interview provided a greater breadth or richness in the data. Semi-structured interview was appropriate for this study because it helped to identify participant’s feelings and experiences.

The interview was conducted separately. Questions were intended to be open-ended and non-directive in accordance with IPA principles. The participants were interviewed in different days. The interview conducted in a quiet room where there was a table, 2chairs and an audio recorder to record the interview.

Also the participant used stopwatch to stop the participant if the interview passes 30 minutes but the interviews lasted 23 minutes for BK and 27 minutes for EK. Also, a pen and paper was used for the researcher to take any notes during the interview. The interview was audio recorded when the interview was conducted then it was transcribed. Data analysis Two transcripts was analysed using IPA and therefore it involved trying to understand lived experiences and how participants make sense of their experiences. The transcripts were coded by the researcher.

The transcript was read several times and then writing comments on the transcripts that summarised what was being said by the participants. After reading the transcripts several times and summarising the data emerging themes and inferences about participants’ experiences were recorder. Then emerging themes were grouped by looking at the apparent meanings and relationships with each other. Then the researcher found three most important super-ordinate themes that were experienced by participants. Within three labelled super-ordinate themes several subordinate themes were labelled and this was done by looking at the significant clusters of similar or related experiences of participants. A table was produced to show a clear

presentation .

Then the researcher identified and labelled the life-world themes. This was done by highlighting each lifeworld theme in different colours on the transcripts.After analysing the data the researcher observed that the data was largely consistent with the researcher’s interpretation. Ethical conduct of the research The participants were aware about the nature of the research before carrying out the interview.

Ethical considerations raised by this research were concerned with obtaining informed consent  and maintaining participant’s confidentiality. Both participants were explained the aim of the research. Participants were given the opportunity to ask questions about the research and were aware that they can withdraw from the research at any time and there data would be destroyed. Participants were also aware that they can decline to answer any questions.

At the end of the interview participants was debriefed about the nature of the study to see whether any unforeseen harm, discomfort or misconceptions raised. Also at the end of the interview participants were asked if they have any questions that they want to ask. The participants were aware that the data collected will be confidential and appropriately anonymized. Their confidentiality was maintained through the use of pseudonyms in the research reporting.After the interview the data was stored safely.

All the steps were considered for the safety of participants and the participants was not physically or emotionally at risk. Analysis Participants have been given a pseudonym to allow direct quotes to be used anonymously. They will be known as BK and EK. Expectation of a long-term friendship Both participants described their expectation from a long-term friendship as sharing, trusting each other, honesty and both participants also believes that communication is expected

for a long-term friendship. Sharing Both participant describes sharing is important in a friendship and they both expect their friends to share bad and good times.

BK:” sharing the good and bad times together are the most important element for me”  EK: “the most important thing in friendship is sharing when I say sharing I mean sharing everything not just having fun together but also sharing problems” .Trusting each other Both participants mentioned about the importance of trusting each other. EK: “I need to trust the person first, ok I can be friends with anyone but my friendship to last longer I need to trust the person . BK: “I believe that trust is the most important element which is necessary for a successful friendship” .

The researcher observed that both participants also expect their friends to trust them too.EK: “I expect her to trust me all the time . BK: “I need to feel they trust me as well” . One participant said that friends should not lie to each other and if the friends lie to her she would then stop trusting that friend. EK: “I believe that friends should not lie to each other as if I find out that my friend is lying to me, I will stop trusting them”. Honesty Both participants mentioned that in long-term friendship friends must be honest to each other and this is how they will have a successful friendship.

BK: “I expect her to be honest”  EK: “for a successful friendship there must be honesty” . Communication with friends The researcher observed that for both participants communication is an important element for a successful friendship. EK: “you have

to communicate with each other” . BK: “so my expectation from my friendship is not to expect silently but to talk through everything.

I mean communicating at the right time and at the right place” .Friend’s existence The second super-ordinate theme illustrates participant’s description of friend’s existence this involved needing a friend next to them, friends and family members, going to holiday with friends and having different friends Needing a friend when feeling stressed Both participants descried that they need a friend next to them and they believed that if the friends are there for them then they are true friends. EK: “sometimes you feel down, you feel stressed, um you feel lonely, you cannot handle anything at that moment. You need someone next to you and if that person is a real friend they will be there for you” .

BK: “you know when you feel stressed or sometimes you feel it’s too hard to handle things you know your friends will be there” . Friends and family members One of the participant mentioned that their close friend or long-term friends became like a family member. EK: “after certain of time and sharing your friend becomes like a member of your family”The researcher observed that both participants described that talking to a friend is easier than talking to a family member.BK: “it is important because I can speak to her almost on everything even the thinks that I can’t speak to my family about” .

EK: “it’s easier to talk to your friends than a family member because friends wouldn’t judge you” . The researcher observed that one participant mentioned seeing friendship like a marriage. BK: “like

in marriage you would have ups and downs, good times and bad times, arguments and so on. It’s like this in friendship as well” .

Going to holiday Both participants went to a holiday with their long-term friends and really enjoyed being in holiday with their long-term friends. BK: “once we had a family holiday where we rented a caravan for a week which made all of us really happy. We use to go out during the day and night time after kids go to sleep we use to sit and have a laugh. ”EK: “all three of use went to Spain together it was really fun I felt like I was on top of the moon” (Transcript2, line62-63).The researcher observed that one of the participants described her feeling when she came back from holiday. she was very upset and it took her some time for her to get over it.

EK: “when we were back from Spain I was as depressed as I come back to a cold country again and um I was use to being next to my friends. I felt so lonely when I came back home. But after few days everything settled back to normal” . Having different friends Both participant talked about having different friends and they compared this with their long-term friendship. They described long-term friendship loser than their other friends. BK: “I also realized that me and my friend are much closed up to outside world, we never put anyone else in to our friendship.

I have my other friends but it’s like we cannot become close with anyone else” . EK: “but not all friends are close and special

to me. I like my other friends as well but we don’t have close bond with these friends they are there for me to have fun with and to go out with. I wouldn’t really share my real feelings with these friends” .Benefits and negatives of long-term friendship The third super-ordinate theme illustrates benefits of having long term friendship. The researcher observed that both participants spoke a lot of good things about having long-term friendship and that the participants believe that their friends will find a solution for their problems but in some occasions they spoke about the negative side of friendship.

Sharing and finding solutions Both participants described their experiences of feeling lonely, feeling stressed and sharing things with close friends. They believe their close friends will try to find a solution if needed. BK: “when I want to share something or if I feel lonely then I will tell my friend for help” . EK: “this involves sharing happiness, sharing my feelings um sharing their feelings things like this made our friendship more successful” .

The researcher observed that one participant sees friend that they can share all their secrets and close friends could help with social and personal issues. EK: “friends are really important because you can share all your secrets, you can talk to them when you feel down. pause) they can help you with your social issues and personal issues. Well also friendship provides stability during times of stress and transition”  One of the participant described experiencing problems with her husband and her friend being next to her during this period. BK: “sometimes I have problems with my husband when this happens

I feel alone but my friend will call me and she will come next to me, she will help me to forget about my problems” .One of the participants described that they will be next to their friends and listen to them if they are needed. BK: “if she is in a stressful situation um  I will go next to her. I will listen to her and show that I am there with her (pause).

I will do things if she wants me to do to ease her stress” . The negative side of friends and friends can turn their back The researcher observed that both participants in some occasions talked a little about negative side of friendship and how friends can turn their back to them.BK: “it’s like we cannot become close with anyone else. This is either a negative side of a long-term friendship or we just didn’t met anyone who fits into our friendship criteria” . EK: “but sometimes friends aren’t the best though because unlike family they can turn their back to you, which this could make you feel down and upset” .

One of the participants spoke about how people can change and how this could affect their friendship.BK: “people can change, their life style could change, the way they thinking can change and when you start seeing these changes then your friendship can be affected” . Life world themes: Temporality The researcher observed that both participants showed the importance of temporality is needed in their successful long-term friendship. At the beginning of the interview EK quoted “so how long you know a person cannot show you if they are real friends”

.

She then changes her view and said “long-term friendship feels better” .BK showed with her long-term friend she has a close bond “as the years passed without even realising we had this bond that we started spending more time” . Spatiality Both participants showed spatiality when they talked about loneliness and how their friends help to overcome this situation. BK:“we give each other support and just sit and relax together, without needing to go out to crowd or partying” . She also mentions that they are closed up to outside world with her long-term friend.

I realised that me and my friend are much closed up to outside world” . EK:“when we were back from Spain I was as depressed as I come back to a cold country again and um I was use to being next to my friends. I felt so lonely when I came back home” . Embodiment Both of the participants mentioned embodiment in different ways.

EK mentioned that she would be lonely , she wouldn’t be happy , isolated , feel down and upset without her friends .She also said “I felt like I was on top of the moon”  when she was talking about her holiday experience with her close friends. BK is so bonded with her friend that at one point she feels like her friendship is like marriage , she feels not alone (line94) and she feels lucky for having a long-term friend(line105). Intersubjectivity All through the both interviews intersubjectivity plays an important role for both of the participant’s friendship.EK “this involves sharing happiness, sharing my feelings, um sharing their feelings, things like this made our friendship more successful”

. BK mentions “I share my dreams, my worries, my ups and down, everything really” .

Discussion This study found that long-term friendship is really important for people because the result of this study showed that when people are happy, depressed, emotional or having bad or good times they prefer seeing their long-term friends as they believe they can trust their long-term friends.There are many studies from previous research on friendship, but the research found by the researcher didn’t do phenomenological study however the studies answered the relevant questions so the data ties into past research. The article of ‘What are friends for? Students' expectations of the friendship encounter’ (Parham et al,1980), support what participant has said about long-term friendship. As both participants believed that close friends are the first choice when dealing with personal problems. They prefer sharing their problems with their long-term friends.

Therefore this is in line with the article. The article on ‘Allocentrism and friendship satisfaction: The mediating roles of disclosure and closeness’ (Morry,2005) supports the finding of this study because both participants mentioned that closeness predicts friendship satisfaction and that they will disclose to their long-term friendship because they will trust them.Also the article of ‘measuring friendship quality in late adolescents and young adults: McGill friendship questionnaires’ (Mendelson et al,1999) supports this study as well because both participants showed that longstanding friends tended to rate the friend more positively satisfied with the friendship. Both participants said they will ask for help, they will rely and show emotional feeling with their long-term friends.And finally ‘A longitudinal study of friendship development’ (Robert,1985) also supports this study because both participants believed that close friendship showed

a greater amount of benefit accruing from their friendship and this increased as their friendship developed.

The method used in this study was interviewing two separate participants, this type of method was used because this project was based on phenomenological perspective, and therefore it involved looking at how people make sense of the world and how they experienced events. Using this type of method allowed participants to feel more comfortable in describing their experiences. Using two separate participants was an appropriate method because it was easier for the researcher to understand participants’ feelings, emotions, attitudes and beliefs. However, the limitation of using two separate participants is analyzing is time-consuming also during the interview you may need to think about new questions to ask.

With this method the researcher has no real way to know whether the participants are honest or not. However even though there is some limitation for this type of method this study is best suited to phenomenological perspective. Using this perspective showed the researcher the participant expectations and experiences from their long-term friendship. Using phenomenological perspective helped the researcher to answer the research question, which was ‘how do individuals experience positively log-term friendship’. The limitation of this study was the number of participants was relatively small this could affect the result.

Also the researcher was not allowed to ask questions about the negative sides of long-term friendship because not to put participants in emotional situations. This could also affect the outcome of the study because the researcher could not observe the participant's experiences of negative sides of long-term friendship. This study indicates several areas of future search such as recruiting more participants in order to

see their experiences of long-term friendship.This will give the researcher more appropriate result.

also a different perspective could be used such as discursive perspective could be applied by using group discussion this can give different point of views about long-term friendship. Reflexive diary My research question was ‘how do newlywed couples and middle age couples experience positives/negatives of their marriage but this question was not accepted on ethical grounds so then I decided to study how individuals experience positively long-term friendship.This meant I had to search for new an article which was unexpected and that’s why it took longer for me to find new articles. The reason I wanted to find out the importance of long-term friendship was that I have a long-term friendship which I know her for 19 years. She is very special to me.

She is just like a sister to me. I wanted to find out what others think about long-term friendship. Do they see long-term friendship important and beneficial like I see them.What I found was not surprising as both participants mentioned the same expectations and feelings that I would have mentioned about long-term friendship. This study makes me feel more secure to my long-term friend.

Everything went well with my project because both of the participant experienced positively long-term friendship and this was what I was trying to find out. But I am still not really convinced about the result of this study because I have only interviewed two participants this is too less to decide whether the result is correct.In conclusion the study showed that long-term friendship is more beneficial and important than other friends. Both participants described long-term friendship using

the words ‘trust’, ‘honest’, ‘sharing’.

Reference

  1. Hays, RB. 1985,’A longitudinal study of friendship development;
  2. Journal of personality and Social psychology, 48,4, pp. 909-924, psycARTICLES.
  3. F 1999, ‘measuring friendhip quality in late adolescents and young adults: McGill friendship questionnaire;
  4. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue Canadienne Des Sciences Du Comportment,31,2, pp. 130-132, psycARTICLES. Retrieved from www.ehis. ebscohost. com. libeproxy. open. ac.uk Morry,MM 2005,
  5. The Mediating Roles of Disclosure and Closeness, Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue Canadienne Des Sciences Du Comportment, 37,3, pp. 11-222, psycARTICLES. Retrieved from www. ehis. ebscohost. com.libeproxy. open. ac. uk Parham, W &
  6. Tinsley, H 1980, ‘What are friends for? Students expectations of the friendship, encounter; Journal of counselling psychology, 27,5, pp. 524-527, psycARTICLES. Retrieved from www.ehis. ebscohost. com. libeproxy. open.
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