Idiograohic and nomotheitc approaches Flashcards
What is the idiographic approach?
Derived from the Greek ‘idios’ meaning ‘private or personal’. An approach to research that focuses more on the individual case as a means of understanding behaviour, rather than aiming to formulate general laws of behaviour.
What is the nomothetic approach?
Derived from the Greek ‘nomos’ meaning ‘law’. The nomothetic approach attempts to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws.
What is an example of the idiographic approach in psychology?
Studying the Romanian Orphans - very specific study of some unique individuals - not trying to establish general rules
What is an example of the nomothetic approach in psychology?
Pretty much anything that aims to be scientific - Asch attempting to general rules about social influence etc.
What are the evaluation points for idiographic and nomothetic points?
Case for the idiographic approach
Case against the idiographic approach
Case for the nomothetic approach
Case against nomothetic approach
Evaluation point: Case for the idiographic approach
Its in-depth qualitative methods of investigation provides a complete and global account of the individual.
A single case may generate hypotheses for further study e.g HM findings revealed important insights about normal functioning which contributed to our overall understanding.
Evaluation point: Case against the idiographic approach
One of the criticisms levelled at Freud is that many of his key concepts, e.g the Oedipus complex, were developed from the detailed study of a single case (Little Hans). Meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further examples , as there is no adequate baseline for which to compare behaviour.
Also methods associated with the idiographic approach, such as case studies, tend to be the least scientific in that conclusions often rely on the subjective interpretation of the researcher and are therefore open to bias.
Evaluation point: Case for the nomothetic approach
The process involved in nomothetic research tend to be more scientific, mirroring those employed within the natural sciences - testing under standardised conditions, using data sets that provide group averages, statistical analysis, prediction and control, for example in the field of IQ testing.
Such processes have enabled psychologists to establish norms of ‘typical’ behaviour (such as the IQ of 100), arguably giving the discipline of psychology greater scientific credibility.
Evaluation point: Case against nomothetic approach
The preoccupation within the nomothetic approach on general laws, prediction and control has been accused of ‘losing the whole person’ within psychology.
Knowing that there is a 1% lifetime risk of someone developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone suffering from the disorder.
Similarly, in lab studies involving tests, participants are treated as a series of scores rather than individual people and their subjective experience of situation is ignored.
This means in the search for generalities, the nomothetic approach may sometimes overlook the richness of human experience.
Which methods are associated with idiographic approach?
The methods in psychology that produce qualitative data such as case studies, unstructured interviews, and other self-report measures.
Reflects the central aim of idiographic research to describe the richness of human experience.
Which methods are associated with the nomothetic approach?
The methods that would be regarded as scientific within psychology such as experiments, often involving the study of the large numbers of people in order to establish ways in which people are similar or different.
