idiographic and nomothetic approaches

Question 1

the idiographic-nomothetic debate

Answer 1

• idiographic approach suggests that psychology should be the study of individuals, by obtaining detailed info about that individual we can understand human behaviour better
• nomothetic approach suggests that psychology should be study of large and varied groups to make generalisations about what is typical
• debate has implications for types of research methods psychologists use

Question 2

the idiographic approach to psychological investigation

Answer 2

• number of participants in idiographic research is small, some research might use information from families or friends but focus is on detail
• individual differences, we are all unique
• subjective experiences
• researchers usually observe something in an individual situation and document it (eg. lorenz noticing the chick following him around)

qualitative research -
- most idiographic research is qualitative
- research on depression would be based on first-hand accounts from a small number of people
- data is then analysed and emergent themes are identified
- case studies, therapy, open interviews, observations etc.
- for example, little hans - lots of letters sent to Freud, dream analysis, very subjective and cannot be replicated, displaced fear of castration from father onto horse

examples in psychology -
- most associated with humanistic and psychodynamic approaches
- Carl Rogers developed theory about role of unconditional positive regard, derived from in depth conversations with clients in therapy

Question 3

the nomothetic approach to psychological investigation

Answer 3

• main aim is generalisation in order to create ‘laws’, or general principles of behaviour which can then be applied in individual situations
• benchmark to which we can compare and classify people

three types of general laws (Radford and Kirby) -
- classifying people into groups
- establishing principles of behaviour
- establishing dimensions along which people can be placed and compared

quantitative research -
- research most closely fits traditional models of the scientific method in psychology
- hypotheses are formulated, samples of people are assessed and the numerical data produced is analysed for its statistical significance
- aims to establish cause and effect

examples in psychology -
- behaviourist and biological approaches are nomothetic
- BF Skinner studied animals to establish general laws of learning, looked at one aspect of behaviour but aimed to establish ‘laws’

Question 4

objective vs subjective

Answer 4

• idea of objectivity lies at heart of nomothetic approach, laws of behaviour are only possible if methods of assessment are delivered in a standardised and objective way
• this ensures true replication occurs across samples of behaviour
• researchers working within idiographic approach tend not to believe that objectivity is possible, it is people’s individual experience that is important

Question 5

evaluation strength - complete account

Answer 5

• idiographic approach contributes to nomothetic approach
• uses in-depth qualitative methods of investigation, providing global description of one individual
• may complement nomothetic approach by shedding light on general laws or by challenging laws
• even though focus is on fever individuals, idiographic approach may still help form scientific laws

Question 6

evaluation strength - scientific credibility

Answer 6

• both approaches fit with aims of science
• processes in nomothetic research are similar to those used in natural sciences, such as establishing objectivity
• researchers using the idiographic approach also seek to objectify their methods
• for example, triangulation is used, where findings from studies using qualitative methods are compared, to increase their validity
• both approaches raise psychology’s status as a science

Question 7

evaluation limitation - losing the person

Answer 7

• nomothetic approach has loss of understanding of individual
• it is preoccupied with general laws, prediction and control so is accused of losing the whole person
• for example, stats for developing schizophrenia dont tell us what life is like for people with the disorder
• may fail to relate to experience

Question 8

evaluation strength - idiographic contributing to knowledge of memory / nomothetic

Answer 8

• case studies on individuals to help us understand the role of parts of the brain
• HM had hippocampus removed, left with changes to memory
• numerous studies carried out on HM allowing researchers to learn that the hippocampus is important in LTM processing
• HM provided starting point for nomothetic research on similar theories
• individual case study support for nomothetic approaches