Idiographic and nomothetic approaches

Question 1

Idiographic and Nomothetic Debate

Idiographic Approach

Description

Answer 1

• Idiographic approaches focus on qualitative data from case studies using an individual or group.
• Participants will be interviewed in depth and the data is analysed and themes are identified.
• Conclusions may be useful to people going through individual experiences.

Question 2

Idiographic and Nomothetic Debate

Idiographic Approach

Topic Link

Answer 2

• Rogers sought to explain self-development, including the role of unconditional postivie regard.
• This was derived from in depth interviews with clients in therapy.

Question 3

Idiographic and Nomothetic Debate

Nomothetic Approach

Description

Answer 3

• The aim of nomothetic approaches is to make generalisation from research.
• Hypotheses are made, samples of people are assessed in some way (e.g. structured interview) and numerical data is analysed for statistical significance.
• Nomothetic approaches aim to quantify human behaviour.

Question 4

Idiographic and Nomothetic Debate

Nomothetic Approach

Topic Link

Answer 4

• Behaviourist approaches are nomothetic as they aim to establish universal laws.
• For example, B.F. Skinner’s research studied animals to develop general laws of learning, even though his research only looked at one aspect of behaviour.

Question 5

Idiographic and Nomothetic Debate: Evaluation

Complementary Accounts

Strength

Answer 5

• The idiographic approach contributes to nomothetic research.
• The in-depth qualitative methods in the idiographic approach may complement the nomothetic approach by further explaining or challenging the general laws.
• E.g. a single case study may generate hypotheses for further study.

This suggests that even though idiographic research is on fewer individuals it can still be used to help form scientific basis.

Question 6

Idiographic and Nomothetic Debate: Evaluation

Loss of the person

Limitation

Answer 6

• Nomothetic approaches focus on general laws and has been accused of ‘losing the person’.
• For example, knowing there is a 1% risk for schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone diagnosed with the disorder.
• Understanding the subjective experience of schizophrenia might prove useful when developing treatment options.

This suggests the nomothetic approach may sometimes fail to relate to experience.