Idiographic Vs Nomothetic Flashcards
define idiographic approach
Private or personal⇒focus is more on individual case as the meaning of understanding behaviour + everyone is unique rather than aiming to formulate general laws of behaviour
Define nomothetic approach
attempts to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws
What are features of nomothetic approach (6)
- Reductionist
- deterministic
- employed scientific methods of investigation
- Hypotheses are formed
- Tested under controlled conditions
- Large num of ppl are tested to test statistical significance
What type of method do nomothetic psychologists use and why
- quantitative methods eg controlled lab studies
- Can compare, classify and measure behaviour→ so future behaviour can be controlled & predicted
What type of method do idiographic psychologists use an why & how are they criticised
- Qualitative methods Eg case studies, unstructured interview, self report etc
- Document unique subjective perspective of person who has in someway illustrate key behaviour or difference which can be used to help evaluate any theories in field
- Lack of applicability to general population because of their uniqueness⇒but they are useful as a test for a theory→they cannot add much weight to support a theory→but they can’t show any flaws→ it takes only one case study potentially argue that a theory is wrong as a theory should be able to accommodate all individuals
What is classification + an example
Idea that people can be classified into certain groups according to characteristics, attitudes or behaviour
foundation on which the diagnosis manuals for mental health are based: DSM-5 attempt to diagnose people with mental health disorders by the symptoms they present
What is Q-sort developed by rogers (humanist) + how does it link with idiographic approach
First the subject is given a large set of cards with a self-evaluative statement written on each one. For example “I am friendly” or “I am ambitious” etc. The subject is then asked to sort the cards into piles. One pile to contain statements that are “most like me”, one statements that are “least like me” and one or more piles for statements that are in-between.
In a Q-sort the number of cards can be varied as can the number of piles and the type of question (e.g. How I am now? How I used to be? How my partner sees me? How I would like to be?) So there are a potentially infinite number of variations. For idiographic psychologist because in his/her view there are ultimately as many different personalities as there are people.
What is meant by establishing principles + example and how can this be criticised
Focus on trying to establish laws and principles that can be applied to human behaviour
behaviourism features + thorndike known for his proposed law of effect→which is a principal that underpins operant conditioning theories generators under this principle are often weakened by evidence from case studies as a law requires application to all and it takes only one person so does not apply to negate it
What are the approach’s that uses idiographic theory and how (2)
- Humanistic approachRogers and Maslow studied human beings→ interested in conscious experiences of individual or ‘self’Described them selves as anti-scientific as wanted to investigate uniqueness in subjective methods
- Psychodynamic approach
- What are approaches that use nomothetic theory and how (3)
- BehaviouristSkinner studied response of hundreds of rats, cats and pigeons etc→ To develop laws of learning
- cognitive
- biological
Evaluate +ves for the idiographic approach (2 + research study)
In depth qualitative methods of investigation provides complete & global account of individual
Eg case study may generate hypothesis for further study→ HM developed Amnesia after surgery to treat severe epilepsy he could not commit newly learned facts or events to long-term memory but his short-term memory remained intact + memory for event before the surgery remain intact⇒ diff types of LTM are more resistant to forgetting then others Allport argues: only by knowing the person as a person that we can predict what the person will do in any given situation
- Evaluate -ves for IA (3)
- time consuming⇒ It takes a lot of time and money to study individuals in depth. If a researcher is using the nomothetic approach once a questionnaire, psychometric test or experiment has been designed data can be collected relatively quickly.
- Restricted nature of their work⇒ hard to generalise from one case study eg Freuds Oedipus complex theory developed from little Hans case study⇒ cannot be made without further examples as no adequate baseline with which can compare behaviour
- Least scientific methods⇒ relies on subjective interpretation of research and open bias
Evaluate +ves for NA (2)
- more scientific⇒ tests under standardised conditions using data sets that provide group averages & statistical analysis
- takes an evidence based, objective approach to formulate causal laws. enables us to make predictions about how people are likely to react in certain circumstances, which can be very useful e.g. Zimbardo’s findings about how prisoners and guards react in a prison environment.
Evaluate -ves of NA (2)
- Loses whole person within psych⇒ knowing 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone suffering from disorder
- Lab studies⇒ treats participants like series of scores rather then individual ppl + subjectivness lost⇒ overlooks richness of human experience
What are the basic principles of science
Basic principle of science: Every event in universe has cause→ causes can be explained using general laws
- Knowledge of causes & formation of laws are important as allow scientists to predict & control events within controlled environment⇒ Lab experiment enable researcher to stimulate conditions & remove extraneous variables= to control/predict human behaviour
