idiographic and nomothetic Flashcards
Idiographic?
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 (the nomothetic approach).
Nomothetic?
derived from the Greek ‘nomos’ meaning ‘law’. The nomothetic approach aims to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws
Idiographic approach and qualitative research
The number of participants is small, often a single individual/group. Research might include others e.g. family, friends. The initial focus is about understanding the individual, but generalisations may be made based on findings. Qualitative research e.g. individuals with depression might be interviewed, emergent themes identified and conclusions formed. This might help inform mental health professionals to determine best practice.
Examples in psychology (idio)
Rogers’ concept of counselling was based on his work as a therapist. His theory on the role of unconditional positive regard in self-development was based on his in-depth study of his clients. Freud’s explanation of phobia was based on the detailed case study of Little Hans over many years.
Nomothetic approach and quantitative research
General principles of research (laws) are developed which are then applied in individual situations, such as therapy. Quantitative research - hypotheses are formulated, samples of people (or animals) are gathered and data analysed for its statistical significance. Nomothetic approaches seek to quantify (count) human behaviour.
Examples in psychology (nomo)
Skinner studied animals to develop the general laws of learning. Sperry’s split brain research involved repeated testing and was, in part, the basis for understanding hemispheric lateralisation.
A03: One strength is both approaches fit with the aims of science.
Nomothetic research (like natural sciences) seeks objectivity through standardisation, control and statistical testing. Idiographic research also seeks objectivity through triangulation (comparing a range of studies), and reflexivity (researchers examine their own biases).
This suggests that both the nomothetic and idiographic approaches raise psychology’s status as a science.
A03: One limitation of the nomothetic approach is the individual experience is lost.
Nomothetic approach focuses on general laws and may lose the whole person within psychology. For example, knowing about 1% lifetime risk of schizophrenia says little about having the disorder - which might be useful for therapeutic ideas.
This means, in its search for generalities the nomothetic approach may sometimes fail to relate to experience.
A03: One strength is that idiographic and nomothetic approaches work together.
The idiographic approach uses in-depth qualitative methods which complements the nomothetic approach by providing detail. In-depth case studies such as HM (damaged memory) may reveal insights about normal functioning which contribute to our overall understanding.
This suggests that even though the focus is on fewer individuals, the idiographic approach may help form scientific laws of behaviour.
A03 (counter): However, the idiographic approach on its own is narrow and restricted.
It is also unscientific and subjective.
This suggests that it is difficult to build effective general theories of human behaviour in the complete absence of nomothetic research.
