Mapping Consciousness: Development of an Empirical-Phenomenological Approach

Abstract

A methodology for mapping the structure and organization of subjective experience via the retrospective completion of a self-report inventory, the Phenomenology of Consciousness Questionnaire (PCQ), is presented. The development of the questionnaire is discussed along with its refinement by cluster and factor analyses. The usefulness of this approach for mapping subjective experience associated with various stimulus conditions is offered as an unobtrusive and reliable means to quantify states of consciousness phenomenologically.