Idiographic & Nomothetic Flashcards
What is the idiographic approach?
Detailed study of 1 individual or one group to provide in depth understanding. Focus = the individual & emphasising the unique personal experience of human nature.
Idiographic approach and qualitative data?
Number of participants is small, often a single individual/group. Research may include others, e.g. family/friends. Initial focus = understanding the individual, generalisations may be made base on findings. Qualitative research, e.g. individual with depression may be interviewed, emergent themes identified & conclusions formed. Might help inform mental health professionals determine best practice.
Methods used during idiographic approach?
- Case studies
- Unstructured Interviews
- Thematic analysis
Examples of the idiographic approach?
*Rogers’ concept of counselling was based on his work as a therapist. His “theory” on the role of unconditional positive regard in self-developement was based on his in-depth study of his clients.
*Freud’s explanation of phobia was based on the detailed case study of Little Hans over many years.
What is the nomothetic approach?
Study of larger groups with the aim of discovering norms, universal principles or “laws” of behaviour.
Nomothetic approach & quantitative research?
General principles of behaviour (laws) are developed which are then applied to individual situations, e.g. therapy.
Quantitative research - hypotheses are formulated, sample of people (or animals) are gathered & data analysed for its statistical significance. Nomothetic approaches seek to quantify (count) human behaviour.
Examples of the nomothetic approach>
*Skinner studied animals to develop general laws of learning, that could be generalised to human behaviour.
* Sperry’s split brain research involved repeating testing, and was in part, the basis for understanding hemispheric lateralisation.
Objective (nomothetic) vs Subjective (idiographic)
Nomothetic = seeks standardised methods of assessing people. Ensures true replication across samples of behaviour & removes the contaminating influence of bias.
Idiographic = tends not to believe that objectivity is possible in psychological research. It is people’s individual experience of their unique context that is important.
Strength: idiographic & nomothetic approaches work together
Idiographic approach uses in-depth qualitative methods which complements the nomothetic approach by providing detail. In depth case studies, such as HM (damaged memory) may reveal insights about normal functioning which contribute to our overall understanding. Suggests that even though the focus is on fewer individuals, idiographic approach may help form “scientific” laws of behaviour.
COUNTERPOINT: strength: idiographic & nomothetic approaches work together
Idiographic approach on its own is restricted, no baseline for comparison, also unscientific & subjective. Suggests it is difficult to build effective general theories of human behaviour in the complete absence of nomothetic research.
Limitation: false distinction
Holt argues there could be a false distinction as many approaches utilise both approaches, e.g. the cognitive approach. Therefore, distinction is meaningless & should utilise whichever is relevant to the research question.
Strength: both fit the aims of science
Nomothetic research (like natural sciences) seek objectivity through standardisation, control & statistical testing.
Idiographic research also seeks objectivity through triangulation (comparing a range of studies) & flexibility (researches examine own biases). Suggests both the nomothetic approach & idiographic approach raise psychology’s status as a science.
