1
Q
What is the idiographic- nomothetic debate about?
A
- whether psychologist should focus on the group or individuals
- should the aim of psychological enquiry be to produce generalisations or concern itself with what makes individuals unique
2
Q
What is the idiographic approach?
A
- an approach that focuses on the individual case to understand behaviour
- they suggest that detailed information will allow us to understand human behaviour better
3
Q
What qualitative methods does the idiographic approach use?
A
- small number of p’s (case studies)
- some research may include information from family & friends e.g. unstructured interviews
- focus is on detail & understanding the individual
4
Q
What examples are there in psychology of idiographic approaches?
A
- Rogers sought to explain the process of self-development including the role of unconditional positive regard> derived from in depth conversations with clients in therapy
- Freuds observations of individuals were the bases of his explanations of human nature e.g. Little Hans
5
Q
What is the nomothetic approach?
A
- suggests psychology should be the study of large & varied groups to make generalisations about what is typical in order to predict behaviour which can then be applied to individual situations e.g. drug therapy
6
Q
What quantitative methods does the nomothetic approach use?
A
- similar to ‘scientific method’
- hypotheses are formulated
- large samples of people are assessed via structured questionnaires
- numerical data is produced & analysed for its statistical significance
7
Q
What examples are there in psychology of nomothetic approaches?
A
- behaviourist & biological approach
- Skinner- studied animals to develop general laws of learning, looked at one aspect of behaviour in a few animals
- Sperry’s spilt brain research - involved repeated testing of those with epilepsy in order to understand hemispheric lateralisation
8
Q
How does each approach relate to objectivity & subjectivity?
A
- idea of objectivity lies at the heart of the nomothetic approach
- Laws of behaviour are only possible if methods of assessment are delivered in a standardised & objective way > ensures true replication occurs across samples of behaviour & removes the contaminating influence of bias
- researchers working within the idiographic approach tend not to believe that objectivity in psychological research is possible
> It is people’s individual experience of their unique context that is important,
9
Q
What is a strength of the idiographic approach?
A
- contributes to the nomothetic approach
- IA uses in-depth qualitative methods > provides a global description of one individual
- this may complement NA by shedding further light on general laws or challenging such laws
- this means the IA may help form ‘scientific’ laws despite small samples
10
Q
What is a counterpoint of research supporting idiographic approach?
A
- supporters of IA should note that meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further examples > means there is no adequate baseline with which to compare behaviour
- Moreover, methods such as case studies tend to be the least scientific > conclusions rely on subjective interpretation of researcher = open to bias
- difficult to build effective theories of behaviour in the complete absence of NA
11
Q
What is a strength of both approaches?
A
- they fit with the aims of science
- processes involved in NA similar to those used in natural sciences (establishing objectivity through standardisation control & statistical testing)
- researchers using IA also seek to objectify their methods> e.g. through triangulation whereby findings from a range of studies (qualitative methods) are compared > way to increase validity
- also Qualitative researchers take on reflexivity
- suggesting both approaches raise psychology’s status as a science
12
Q
What is a limitation of the nomothetic approach?
A
- loss of understanding of the individual
- NA preoccupied with general laws, prediction & control > thus are accused of ‘losing the whole person’ within psych
- e.g. knowing there is a 1% risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone diagnosed with the disorder
- understanding subjective experience would be useful when it comes to devising appropriate treatment options
- NA fails to relate to experience
- thus rather than seeing idiographic and nomothetic approaches as either/or alternatives, we can consider the same topic from both perspectives > to develop general understanding.
