idiographic and nomothetic

Question 1

idiographic approach

Answer 1

refers to the study of an individual through a case study
- associated with qualitative data unstructured interviews etc
-

Question 2

strengths of idiographic apporoach

Answer 2

qualititative data produces in depth details - can be used to support existing theories - leads to the development of theories

Question 3

limitations of idiographic approach

Answer 3

struggles to be generalised
- as it is based on the individual it cannot be generalised to others - reduces the validity of the research

lacks scientific riguor
- methods rely heavily on subjective interpretation
- conclusions are open to researcher bias

Question 4

nomothetic approach

Answer 4

• produce general lawd about human behaviour
• provides measures by which individuals can be compared to be classified
• involves studying a large group of people to establish similarities in behaviour

Question 5

strengths of nomothetic approach

Answer 5

highly scientific methods
- high levels of control over extraneous variables
- greater scientific credibility

objective
- can be easily measured

Question 6

limitations of nomothetic approach

Answer 6

may undervalue impact of individuals experience
- emphasis on general laws ignores individual differences