idiographic and nomothetic

Question 1

idiographic

Answer 1

an approach to research that focuses more on the individual case as a means of understanding behavior rather than aiming to formulate general laws of behavior

Question 2

nomothetic

Answer 2

aims to study human behavior through the development of general principles and universal laws

Question 3

idiographic approach to psychological investigations

Answer 3

number of participants in idiographic research is small (individual, group, institution) , focus is on detail, qualitative research, eg humanistic and psychodynamic approaches

Question 4

nomothetic approach to psychological investigations

Answer 4

generalisation, qualitative research, counts human behaviour, eg behaviorist and biological approaches