Idiographic & Nomothetic Approaches Flashcards
1
Q
What is the idiographic approach?
A
- Focuses on individuals
- Emphasises uniqueness
- Favours qualitative methods in research - interviews, case studies
2
Q
What are some examples of the idiographic approach?
A
- Freud’s case study of Little Hans - consists of quotes recorded by his father & descriptions of his life & Freud’s own interpretations of events
- Humanistic psychology focuses on whole person & seeing world from their perspective
3
Q
What is the nomothetic approach?
A
- Generalises findings to wider population
- Seeks to establish laws about behaviour that can be applied across any given population
- Uses quantitative methods - graphs, statistical analysis
4
Q
What are the 3 types of general laws?
A
- Classification - idea that people can be classified into certain groups according to
characteristics, attitudes or behaviour - Establishing principles - establishing laws & principles that can be applied to behaviour
- Establishing dimensions - attempt to document continuums that an individual can be placed after comparing with others
5
Q
What are some examples of the nomothetic approach?
A
- Behaviourists produce general laws of behavior - classical/operant conditioning
- Biological approach seeks to portray basic principles of how body & brain works
- Cognitive approach aims to develop general laws applying to everyone - memory processes
