Idiographic and Nomothetic Flashcards

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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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,
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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