Studying the Stream of Experience at Memorial Sites: The Subjective Camera Methodology

This chapter describes our use of subjective cameras (subcams) to explore how people experience and relate to different kinds of memorial sites. Whereas previous research on this area has mainly focused either on architectural features or observations of people on-site, our focus is on the situated, ongoing interaction between individuals and memorials with different material affordances, as they occur from the participant’s perspective. The chapter presents three case studies, carried out at both traditional and contemporary memorials. Examples of data collection and analysis in each case study is provided. Different uses of subcams across the three studies are discussed by highlighting the possibilities and constraints of each methodological procedure. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the usefulness of subcams as a methodological tool in the field of cultural psychology, especially in the study of the ongoing, flow of experience in the encounter between humans and the environment.