Idiographic And Nomothetic Approaches Flashcards
Define idiographic
An approach which focuses upon the individual case as a means to understand behaviour, rather than trying to create general laws.
It is generally associated with methods which produce qualitative data.
Define the nomothetic approach
An approach which attempts to develop universal laws and general principles to study human behaviour.
It uses methods such as experiments which involve the study of large number of people to establish the ways in which people are similar.
Give example of the idiographic approach (2)
Humanistic psychology
- Rogers and Maslow documented the
conscious experience of the self.
Psychodynamic approach
- Freud used case studies when detailing the life of his patients, however he also assumed universal laws had been identified which is more like the nomothetic approach.
Give examples of the nomothetic approach (3)
Behaviourism.
- the responses of animals were studied to
create general laws of learning.
cognitive approach.
- the performance of large samples of people were measured in lab tests to infer the structure and processes of memory.
biological approach.
- brain scans have been conducted to make generalisations about localisation of function.
Give the case for the idiographic approach
It provides a complete account of the individual.
This may complement the nomothetic approach by shedding further light on general laws, as a single case may create hypothesis for further research.
The case study of HM, who had brain damage, resulting in an inability to to commit newly learned event or facts to long-term memory, meant that we can investigate how the damage affected his memory and the findings can then be generalised or used to predict how other people would be affected if they suffered the same damage.
Give the case against the idiographic approach
Concepts developed by Freud, such as the Oedipus complex, were developed from the detailed study of a single case, so meaningful generalisations cannot be made.
The idiographic approach is also more open to bias as methods such as case studies often rely on the subjective interpretation of the researcher.
Give the case for the nomothetic approach.
More scientific - standardised conditions.
- predication and control
This enables psychologists to establish norms of ‘typical’ behaviour, giving psychology greater scientific credibility.
The case against the nomothetic approach.
Using statistics results in the loss of the ‘whole’ person.
It ignores subjective experience.
idiographic and nomothetic approach
It’s possible to consider the same topic from both perspectives.
