Specifically, phenomenologists describe how the structures of intentionality, self-awareness, temporality, attention, embodiment, and intersubjectivity make possible our consciousness of worldly things, situations, and events.

phenomenology, a philosophical movement originating in the 20th century, the primary objective of which is the direct investigation and description of phenomena as consciously experienced, without theories about their causal explanation and as free as possible from unexamined preconceptions and presuppositions.

They take into account the intentionality of consciousness—i.e., its directedness toward an object (the description must include, for example, the object of fear when dealing with what it means to be afraid). Phenomenology has influenced many psychologists to develop descriptions and even therapeutic techniques.