idiographic v nomothetic

Question 1

idiographic meaning

Answer 1

qualitative, focus on unique individuals, case studies, small scale studies, no attempt to compare or generalise

Question 2

examples of idiographic research

Answer 2

HM
little Hans
little Albert
Phineas Gage

Question 3

nomothetic meaning

Answer 3

seek to create general laws and principles, study large group, make predictions about behaviour, quantitative,

Question 4

what are the 3 kinds of general laws of human behaviour

Answer 4

classifying people in to groups
establishing principles of behaviour
establishing dimensions of which people can be placed and compared on

Question 5

establishing dimensions of which people can be placed and compared on
example

Answer 5

IQ
locus of control
f scale

Question 6

classifying people in to groups
example

Answer 6

dsm-IV having criteria for mental health disorders like OCD
types of attachment, secure insecure avoidant and insecure resistant

Question 7

establishing principles of behaviour
example

Answer 7

establishing that normal people are capable of harming others while obeying
there will be some negative effects if maternally deprived

Question 8

quantitative research methods example

Answer 8

correlation analysis
questionnaires
experiments
structured observations
structured interviews

Question 9

qualitative research methods examples

Answer 9

instructed interview
case study
unstructured observation

Question 10

is psychodynamic nomothetic or idiographic or both

Answer 10

both
freud explanation of phobias based solely on little hans but generalised to all.
every other aspect nomothetic

Question 11

are the learning approaches nomothetic or idiographic or both

Answer 11

nomothetic
skinners research and banduras
developed general laws of learning

Question 12

is humanistic nomothetic or idiographic or both

Answer 12

idiographic
rogers theory of unconditional positive regard based on in-depth study of his clients

Question 13

is cognitive nomothetic or idiographic or both

Answer 13

both
n- aim to establish general principles of how the mind works
I- study unique cases eg HM

Question 14

is biological nomothetic or idiographic or both

Answer 14

nomothetic
aim to establish general laws based of large scale scientific experiments.
sperry split brain research

Question 15

nomothetic approach synoptic example

Answer 15

harris et al
creates general law of innate salt preference

Question 16

idiographic synoptic example

Answer 16

freuds little hans
case study qualitative date

however generalised this to all phobias and to back up oedipus complex (nomothetic)

Question 17

one strength is idiographic and nomothetic approaches work together

Answer 17

The 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.
This suggests that even though the focus is on fewer individuals, the idiographic approach may help form ‘scientific’ laws of behaviour.

Question 18

one strength is both approaches fit with the aims of science

Answer 18

Nomothetic research (like natural sciences) seeks objectivity through standardisatio control and statistical testing.
Idiographic research also seeks objectivity through triangulation (comparing a range of studies), and reflexivity (researchers examine own biases).
This suggests that both the nomothetic and idiographic approaches raise psychology’s status as a science.

Question 19

one limitation of the nomothetic approach is the individual experience is lost

Answer 19

Nomothetic approach focuses on general laws and may lose the whole person’ within psychology.
For example, knowing about a 1% lifetime risk of schizophrenia says little about having the disorder - which might be useful for therapeutic ideas.
This means, in its search for generalities, the nomothetic approach may sometimes fail to relate to ‘experience.