idiographic vs nomothetic

Question 1

what is meant by idiographic?

Answer 1

an explanation that considers the individual and argues generalisation is difficult due to uniqueness
-example is case studies, documenting individuals, but are criticised for their lack of applicability to the general population, don’t add much weight to a theory but can show flaws
-favours qualitative methods

Question 2

what is meant by nomothetic?

Answer 2

-the idea that people can be regarded as groups, so theories/explanations are generalisable
-three different types of general laws about behaviour (classification, establishing principles and establishing dimensions)

Question 3

what is meant by classification as a general law?

Answer 3

-people can be classified into groups according to characteristics
-eg ICD-10 and DSM-5

Question 3

what is meant by establishing principles as a general law?

Answer 3

-establishing laws that can be applied to human behaviour
-behaviourism conditioning law of effect
-theories generated using this principle are often weakened by case studies, as laws require application to all

Question 4

what is meant by establishing dimensions as a general law?

Answer 4

-attempt to document continuums upon which a person can be placed, allowing comparison with others, and facilitates scientific measurement
-used in personality research, which says we have a level of a certain trait, and variation influences behaviour

Question 5

what type of research is favoured for nomothetics?

Answer 5

-quantitative
-its the stance taken by natural sciences
-lab conditions where variables are fully controlled

Question 6

how do research questions relate to the debate?

Answer 6

-research questions asked depends on the stance in the debate
-broadly, quantitative is nomothetic and qualitative is idiographic (isn’t clear cut tho)

Question 7

what are trait theories of personalities?

Answer 7

attempt to define personality in terms of individual traits
-current theory is the ‘big 5 personality traits’ (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism)

Question 8

how does the debate relate to shcizophrenia?

Answer 8

-drug therapies developed from nomothetic research
-CBT is more idiographic

Question 9

how does the debate relate to aggression?

Answer 9

-neural, hormonal, genetic, evolutionary and ethological explanations are nomothetic
-computer game research isn’t conclusive, so can be argued to be idiographic

Question 10

how does the debate relate to cognition and development?

Answer 10

-nomothetic
-main aim is looking for stages to generalise
-children who don’t follow the stages are idiographic

Question 11

evaluate the debate

Answer 11

-most psychology is nomothetic, establishing patterns that allow for intervention
-nomothetic = one-size-fits-all, may be inappropriate for some
-idiographic research can prompt further work, looking at behaviour as a phenomenon leads to research ideas