Idiographic and nomothetic approaches

Question 1

What is the debate?

Answer 1

Psychology should be the sudy of individuals (idiographic) or large and varied groups that generalise to typical behaviour (nomothetic)

Question 2

What are the key features of the idiographic approach?

Answer 2

• Small number of participants- often a single case
• Focus on understanding the individual
• Use of qualitative data- first hand accounts, case studies, in-depth unstructured interviews
• Data analysed and themes identified
• Conclusions may help medical professionals detrmine best practice and help similar people

Question 3

What are some examples of idiographic research in psychology?

Answer 3

• Humanistic and psychodynamic approaches
• Rogers- explains self-development through unconditional positive regard (in-depth convos)
• Freud- careful observations to explain human nature

Question 4

What are the key features of the nomothetic approach?

Answer 4

• Aim is generalisation, to creates laws/general principles
• Quantitative reserach- ‘scientific method’
• Formulate hypothesis, assess samples (structured interview/psych test), produce and analyse numerical data for statistical significance
• Seek to quantify human behaviour

Question 5

What are the 3 types of nomothetic law?

Answer 5

1) Classifying people into groups
2) Establishing principles
3) Establishing dimensions

Question 6

What are some examples of the nomothetic approach in psychology?

Answer 6

• Behaviourist and biological approaches
• Skinner- studied animals to develop general laws of learning
• Sperry- small sample to understand hemispheric lateralisation

Question 7

How is the nomothetic approach objective?

Answer 7

• Laws of behaviour become possible if assessment methods are delivered in a standardised/objective way
• Ensures replication, removes bias

Question 8

How is the idiographic approach subjective?

Answer 8

• Study individual experience in unique contexts

Question 9

Strength-
I- Complete account

Answer 9

D- Idiographic approach contributed to nomothetic approach. Idiographic= in-depth qualitative methods, provides global description of one individual. This compliments nomothetic approach by shedding light on/challenging general laws (e.g: HM- single case but generates further hypotheses)
E- Suggests idiographic approach may help form scientific laws

Question 10

Limitation-
I- Idiographic approach is too narrow and restricted

Answer 10

D- Meaningful generalisation cannot be made as there is no adequate baseline for comparison. Methods (i.e. case study) produces least scientific conclusions as they rely on subjective interpretation and are open to biase
E- Suggests it is difficult to build effective general theories of behaviour in absence of nomothetic research

Question 11

Strength-
I- Scientific credibility

Answer 11

D- Both approaches fit with aims of science. Nomothetic= establishes objectivity through standardisation, control, stats testing. Idiographic= objectivity through triangulation
E- Suggests both approaches raise psychology’s status as a science

Question 12

Limitation-
I- Loses the person

Answer 12

D- Nomothetic research preoccupied with general laws, prediction and control, so it ‘loses the whole person’. E.g: knowing risk of schizophrenia is 1% tells us little about people with schizophrenia. Understanding subjective experience may be useful in treatments
E- Means the nomothetic approach fails to relate to human experience

Question 13

Evaluation extra-
I- Distinct of complementary?

Answer 13

Strength-
D- Each is appropriate in different situations with different aims. If attempting to make universal claims= nomothetic, if attempting to understand unique perspective= idiographic

Limitation-
D- Two approaches are two ends of a continuum. May be used simultaneously and applied to the same individual/question
E- Both valuable approachs, may be most effective to use a combo of both