Issues And Debates: Idiographic + Nomothetic Flashcards
Idiographic
Focus on the individual and emphasise the unique personal experience of human nature
Qualitative
Case studies
Unstructured interviews
Thematic analysis
Provide in depth insight into individual behaviour
Does not seek to formulate laws or generalise results
Nomothetic
Concerned with establishing general laws, based on the study of large groups of people
Quantitative
Experiments
Correlational research
Main approach within scientifically orientated psychology
Seeks to formulate laws and/or generalise results
Humanistic - Idiographic
Believes in uniqueness of a person
Uses unstructured interviews to gather info
Qualitative data: rich, descriptive, verbal
Rejects scientific method
CCT idiographic
Therapy isn’t one size fits all
Tailored for each individual to help them self actualise
Idiographic evaluation
Strengths:
Gains detail
Uncover causes for behaviour
Develop holistic view of the person
Provide hypothesis for future study
Weaknesses:
Cannot generalise to wider population
Methods are subjective
Difficult to be replicated
Not suitable for developing psychological treatments, nomothetic approaches may be more useful
Biological - Nomothetic
When explaining psychological disorders = OCD and depression
Pinpoint biological factors, neurotransmitters, that are responsive for such disorders + use biological therapies to treat all patients
Behavioural - Nomothetic
Conducted experiments with animals to establish laws of learning (CC and OC) that could be generalised to humans and non human animals
Studies large groups of people
Uses lab experiments as method of investigation
Scientific
Use of principles in therapy, SD and flooding
Nomothetic evaluation
Strengths!
Can generalise to wider population
Methods are objective + measurable
Weaknesses:
Understanding is often superficial
Generalised laws cannot always be applied to individuals
