Idiographic and Nomothetic Approaches

Question 1

What does the idiographic approach in psychology focus on?

Answer 1

The approach attempts to describe the nature of the individual, studying people as those with their own subjective experiences, motivations and values

Question 2

Does the idiographic approach compare individuals to a larger group, standard, or norm?

Answer 2

No, it does not attempt to compare individuals to a larger group, standard or norm

Question 3

What type of data does the idiographic value?

Answer 3

Qualitative data, such as case studies, unstructured interviews and other self report measures so they can understand the individual better and provide useful insights for therapists

Question 4

What is a central aim of the idiographic research?

Answer 4

To describe the richness of human experience and gain insight into a person’s unique way of viewing the world

Question 5

What does the nomothetic approach involve studying?

Answer 5

Large numbers of people to establish similarities and differences among them

Question 5

Which psychological approach is the best example of the idiographic perspective?

Answer 5

Humanistic and psychodynamic approaches

Question 6

How did Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow approach the study of human beings?

Answer 6

They took a phenomenological approach, focusing on documenting the conscious experience of the individual or ‘self’

Question 7

Why is the psychodynamic approach often labelled as idiographic?

Answer 7

This is because Sigmund Freud used the case study method to detail the lives of his patients

Question 8

What are key features of the nomothetic approach in psychology?

Answer 8

It isfocused on studying large groups of people aiming to find patterns/ ‘laws’ that coul be generalised to the wider population

Question 9

Which approaches in psychology often use the nomothetic approach?

Answer 9

Behaviourist and biological approaches

Question 10

How did behaviourists like Skinner use the nomothetic approach?

Answer 10

By studying the responses of hundreds of animals (rats, cats and pigeons) to develop general laws of learning

Question 11

How have biological psychologists contributed to the nomothetic approach?

Answer 11

By conducting brain scans on countless human brains to make generalisations about the localisation of brain function

Question 12

What processes are central to the nomothetic approach in psychology?

Answer 12

Values the importance of quantitative methods that allow to establish cause - effect statements that could be generalised to everyone. The research methods used would include features such as replicability and objectivity

Question 13

Why are laboratory tests important in the nomothetic approach?

Answer 13

They allow researchers to control conditions, test hypotheses and ensure findings are statistically significant for generalisation

Question 14

What is a strength of the nomothetic approach? (more scientific + scientific credibility)

Answer 14

The nomothetic approach is more scientific, mirroring methods used in the natural sciences

It involves testing under standardised conditions, using group averages, statistical analysis and enabling prediction and control (IQ testing)

These processes help establish norms of typical behaviour, such as an average IQ of 100, giving psychology greater scientific credibility

Question 14

What is a limitation of the nomothetic approach? (lose richness of human behaviour)

Answer 14

By focusing on general laws, prediction and control can ‘lose the whole person’ by neglecting individual experiences

For example, knowing the 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia does not explain what life is like for someone living with the disorder

Lab studies often treat participants as data scores, ignoring their subjective experiences and the richness of human behaviour

Question 15

What is a strength of the idiographic approach? (in depth info + further insight/study)

Answer 15

The approach provides a complete and in depth account of the individual through qualitative methods of investigation

It can aid the nomothetic approach by shedding light on general laws of challenging them

Single cases, like HM, can generate hypotheses for further study and offer insight into normal functioning, like contributions to understanding memory

Question 16

What is a limitation of the idiographic approach? (researcher bias, lack of baseline and lack of generalisability)

Answer 16

The work based produced following this approach is often narrow and restricted, as it focuses on single individuals or small samples

Meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further examples, as there is an unreliable baseline for comparison, for example Freud’s Oedipus complex based on Little Hans

Methods like case studies are often the least scientific, as conclusions rely on subjective interpretations, making them prone to researcher bias