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Russell T Hurlburt Ph.D.

About

Russell T. Hurlburt pioneered the investigation of inner experience (thoughts, feelings, etc.) in 1973, inventing the beepers that launched “thought sampling.” Despite the sophistication of his thought-sampling measurements, Hurlburt concluded that science needs a better understanding of inner phenomena themselves. Therefore he developed “Descriptive Experience Sampling” (DES) to apprehend inner experience in high fidelity. That has led to five books: Investigating Pristine Inner Experience: Moments of Truth (Cambridge, 2011), Describing Inner Experience: Proponent Meets Skeptic (with Eric Schwitzgebel, MIT, 2007), Exploring Inner Experience (with Chris Heavey, John Benjamins, 2006), Sampling Inner Experience in Disturbed Affect (Plenum, 1993), and Sampling Normal and Schizophrenic Inner Experience (Plenum, 1990). A special issue of the Journal of Consciousness Studies (January 2010) was devoted to DES. Hurlburt is a professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and is also the author of the statistics textbook, Comprehending Behavioral Statistics (fourth edition 2006).

Books by Russell T Hurlburt Ph.D.
Recent Posts
Thinking Without Words
Unsymbolized thinking is the experience of an explicit, differentiated thought that does not include the experience of words, images, or any other symbols. Many (perhaps most) people think unsymbolized thinking is impossible, but in fact, it is common.
Inner Experience in Bulimia Nervosa

The inner experience of women with bulimia nervosa is characterized by complex multiplicity. Although this complex experience occurs frequently, the women themselves don't know their experience is complex.

The inner experience of women with bulimia nervosa is characterized by complex multiplicity. Although this complex experience occurs frequently, the women themselves don't know their experience is complex.

A Penny for Your Thoughts: Investigating Pristine Experience

“Pristine inner experiences” are thoughts, feelings, sensations, tickles, seeings, hearings, and so on, anything that appears directly before the footlights of consciousness. Our research has shown that pristine experience is fascinating, but that its characteristics are relatively unknown both by the experiencer herself and psychological science.

“Pristine inner experiences” are thoughts, feelings, sensations, tickles, seeings, hearings, and so on, anything that appears directly before the footlights of consciousness. Our research has shown that pristine experience is fascinating, but that its characteristics are relatively unknown both by the experiencer herself and psychological science.