Issues and debates: idiographic and nomothetic

Question 1

what is nomothetic?

Answer 1

.the view of humans as predictable and similar
.explains behaviour as a general pattern

Question 2

what are the strengths to using a nomothetic approach?

Answer 2

.more reliable -focuses on quantitive data that requires little interpretation so it can be replicated easily and similar conclusions can be reached even with a different researcher
.more useful -creates general laws and principles which is more useful in applying psychology to treatments and explanations

Question 2

how does a nomothetic approach collect data?

Answer 2

.uses large representative sample
.uses quantitative methods
.begins with a hypothesis
.generates general laws

Question 3

what is idiographic?

Answer 3

.sees the individual experience as most important and understands that people are different

Question 4

how does an idiographic approach collect data?

Answer 4

.uses small samples.
.uses qualitative methods to get richer data
.does not begin with a hypothesis
.used to find expeditions to general laws

Question 5

what are the strengths to taking an idiographic approach?

Answer 5

.higher internal validity -aims to truly understand the complexities of behaviour
.more useful for specific people -the specific cases it uses will benefit more from idiographic research than general laws that may only partially apply to them.