Idiographic and Nomothetic Approaches Flashcards
What does the idiographic approach in psychology focus on?
The approach attempts to describe the nature of the individual, studying people as those with their own subjective experiences, motivations and values
Does the idiographic approach compare individuals to a larger group, standard, or norm?
No, it does not attempt to compare individuals to a larger group, standard or norm
What type of data does the idiographic value?
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
What is a central aim of the idiographic research?
To describe the richness of human experience and gain insight into a person’s unique way of viewing the world
What does the nomothetic approach involve studying?
Large numbers of people to establish similarities and differences among them
Which psychological approach is the best example of the idiographic perspective?
Humanistic and psychodynamic approaches
How did Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow approach the study of human beings?
They took a phenomenological approach, focusing on documenting the conscious experience of the individual or ‘self’
Why is the psychodynamic approach often labelled as idiographic?
This is because Sigmund Freud used the case study method to detail the lives of his patients
What are key features of the nomothetic approach in psychology?
It isfocused on studying large groups of people aiming to find patterns/ ‘laws’ that coul be generalised to the wider population
Which approaches in psychology often use the nomothetic approach?
Behaviourist and biological approaches
How did behaviourists like Skinner use the nomothetic approach?
By studying the responses of hundreds of animals (rats, cats and pigeons) to develop general laws of learning
How have biological psychologists contributed to the nomothetic approach?
By conducting brain scans on countless human brains to make generalisations about the localisation of brain function
What processes are central to the nomothetic approach in psychology?
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
Why are laboratory tests important in the nomothetic approach?
They allow researchers to control conditions, test hypotheses and ensure findings are statistically significant for generalisation
What is a strength of the nomothetic approach? (more scientific + scientific credibility)
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
What is a limitation of the nomothetic approach? (lose richness of human behaviour)
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
What is a strength of the idiographic approach? (in depth info + further insight/study)
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
What is a limitation of the idiographic approach? (researcher bias, lack of baseline and lack of generalisability)
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
