Idiographic And Nomothetic Approaches Flashcards
What is the idiographic approach
Psychology should be the study of individuals because by studying individuals in detail, we cab understand human behaviour better
What is the nomothetic approach
Psychology should be the study of large and varied groups to make generalisations about what is typical in different aspects of human behaviour
What is the type of ppts number in an idiographic research
Small no. Of ppts often a small case of a single individual or group
Wat is the main focus of an idiographic research
Understanding the individual
If idiographic research is to Understand the individual, then why are other propel such as family and friends also involved
So that they can receive detailed about the individual from them about the individual
What type of research does an idiographic research tend to be
Qualitative
What types of qualitative research is used in idiographic research
Case studies, interviews, questionnaires
What re qualitative idiographic researches good
Data is analysed and emergent themes are identifies which helps create conclusions which can help other people who are going through similar experiences and can help mental health professionals determine the best practice
What is the idiographic approach associated with in other psychology topics
Humanistic and psychodynamic approach
How does the idiographic approach associate with the humanistic approach
Rogers explained the process of self development with he role of unconditional positive regard and this was done by in depth convos with clients in therapy
How does the idiographic approach associate with the psychodynamic approach
Freuds careful observations of individuals were the basis of his explanation of human nature, eg the Little Hans case explained how phobias may develop
What is the main aim of the nomothetic approach in research
Is to generalise in order to create general laws which. Could then be applied to individual situations
What type of research does nomothetic research typically use
Quantitative
How does nomothetic research show to be more scientific
By using quantitative methods in psych as hypothesis formulation and samples for research
What are the ways samples are assessed in nomothetic approach
Structured interviews and psychological testing
Does nomothetic research use numerical data and if yes why
Yes and it is used to be analysed for its statistical significance
What does the nomothetic approach aim for
Seeks to quantify human behaviour
What theory can you apply to the idiographic approach and how
Humanistic approach as they took a phenomenological approach to studying humans & were interested only in documenting the conscious experience of the individual, humanistic psychologists were more concerned with investigating unique experience ‘on its own merits’ than producing general laws of behaviour
What are 2 limitations of the idiographic approach
• Cannot generalise to wider population.
• Methods are subjective, flexible and unstandardised so replication, prediction and control of behaviour is difficult.
What are 4 strengths of the idiographic approach
• Gain detailed and informative descriptions of behaviour.
• Can uncover causes for behaviour not identified using
nomothetic methods.
• Develop a holistic understanding of individual.
• Can provide hypotheses for future scientific study
What theories can we apply to the nomothetic approach and how
.behaviourists- studied the responses of hundreds of rats, cats, pigeons etc, in order to develop the laws of learning
.cognitive- infer the structure and processes of human memory by measuring performance of large samples of people in laboratory tests
.biological- conducted brain scans on countless human brains in order to make generalisations about localisation of function.
what are 3 kinds of general laws
Classification:
-DSM IV
Establishing principles:
-Conformity & obedience
Establishing dimensions:
-IQ
what general laws in the nomothetic approach provide
a ‘benchmark’ against which people can be compared and measured, and the basis of their future
behaviour can be predicted and/or controlled.
2 strengths of the nomothetic approach
.Can generalise to wider population.
.Methods are objective, measurable and can be verified so
replication, prediction and control of behaviour is easy.
3 limitations of the nomothetic approach
.Generalised laws and principles may not apply to an
individual.
.Understanding is often superficial:
-Ppts can gain the same score on a personality test, but
have very different answers.
