An Introduction to Phenomenological Psychology

In a systematic and comprehensive manner, this book was the first to sketch out a full picture of the field of phenomenological psychology for those coming to it from other perspectives. The first chapter discusses the influence of the nineteenth century on psychology in general, after which Kruger characterizes aspects of behaviorism and depth psychology. The second chapter comprises a fluent review of the philosophical prehistory of phenomenological psychology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The third chapter deals with perception, memory, and imagination and provides a phenomenological interpretation of the unconscious. Chapter four introduces the reader to the field of phenomenological, empirical, and experimental research. Chapter five comprises a summary of the meaning of phenomenology for psychopathology and for psychotherapy. The last chapter provides the reader with a defense of the standpoint taken up by the phenomenologist, namely, that psychology concerns itself with interpersonal events—that is, never with intrapsychic ones.