L7 Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches to investigation

Question 1

Define Idiographic

Answer 1

The term ‘idiographic’ comes from the Greek word ‘idios’, which means ‘own’ or ‘private’. Psychologists who take an idiographic approach focus on the individual, and emphasise the unique personal experience of human nature.

Question 2

What kind of methods of research does the idiographic approach prefer

Answer 2

This means they favour qualitative research methods, such as the case study, unstructured interviews and thematic analysis which allow an in-depth insight into individual behaviour.

Question 3

Example of an idiographic approach

Answer 3

The psychodynamic approach is seen as idiographic. Sigmund Freud used case studies of his patients as a way to understand human behaviour, such as the
case study of Little Hans. This case consists of almost 150 pages of verbatim quotes recorded by Little Hans’ father and descriptions of events in Little Hans’ life, as well as Freud’s interpretation of these quotes and events (Freud, 1909). Freud did make generalisations based on his case studies but these are still idiographic because they are drawn from information gathered from unique individuals.

Question 4

What approach is idiographic ?

Answer 4

The humanistic approach is also idiographic. Humanistic psychologists favour
the idiographic approach because they are concerned with studying the whole person and seeing the world from the perspective of that person.

Question 5

What is the nomothetic approach

Answer 5

The term ‘nomothetic’ comes from the Greek word ‘nomos’ which means ‘law’. Psychologists who take a nomothetic approach are concerned with establishing general laws, based on the study of large groups of people, and the use of statistical (quantitative) techniques to analyse data.

Question 6

Which approaches take the nomothetic approach

Answer 6

• biological
• behaviourists
• social
• cognitive

Question 7

How does the biological approach take the nomothetic approacn

Answer 7

Biological Psychologists take a nomothetic approach when explaining psychological disorders, such as OCD and depression. They typically pinpoint biological factors, such as neurotransmitters, that are responsible for such disorders and use biological therapies (e.g. drugs) to treat all patients.

Question 8

How do behaviourists take the nomothetic approach

Answer 8

Behaviourists, such as Pavlov and Skinner, conducted experiments with animals in order to establish laws of learning (classical and operant conditioning) that could be generalised to humans and non-human animals.

Question 9

How do cognitive psychologists take the nomothetic approach

Answer 9

Cognitive psychologists, such as Atkinson and Shiffrin, developed general laws, such as the Multi-Store Model of Memory, which they believed could be generalised to everyone.

Question 10

How do social psychologists take the nomothetic approach

Answer 10

Social psychologists, such as Milgram and Asch, used a nomothetic approach to create general conclusions about human behaviour: that situational factors are responsible for both obedience and conformity.

Question 11

Evaluation of idiographic approach (qualitative data produces more complete account of individual)

Answer 11

This
may support existing theories or challenge general laws and lead to development of improved psychological theories, through the process of deduction. For example, the case studies conducted on HM and Clive Wearing demonstrated that different types of longterm memory are located in different areas of the brain. This led to the further research of localisation and memory.

Question 12

Evaluation of idiographic approach (methods used such as unstructured interviews lack scientfific rigour)

Answer 12

These methods rely heavily on individual and subjective interpretation.
Therefore, conclusions are open to researcher bias, which reduces the reliability of the
findings and the extent to which they can be generalised to other individuals. This
translates to a lack of validity when developing theories and assumptions based upon the
idiographic approach.

Question 13

Evaluation of idiographic approach (uses case studies, time consuming)

Answer 13

Another weakness of the idiographic approach is the use of case studies since while case studies can highlight a flaw in psychological theories and prompt further research, the case study method and other qualitative methods are extremely time-consuming. Freud’s case study of Little Hans consists of almost 150 pages of verbatim quotes from Little Hans’ father, as well as detailed descriptions of the events in Little Hans’ life. Freud did go on to create universal theories of personality development during childhood; however, these were based on limited and unrepresentative case studies that many psychologists would discredit.

Question 14

Evaluation of idiographic approach (case studies develop new theories and better human understanding)

Answer 14

Furthermore, the case study method is a powerful tool for evaluating psychological theories. The case of Patient KF (Shallice and Warrington, 1970) exposed a limitation of the Multi-Store Model of Memory, by providing evidence that our STM comprises of at least two components (auditory and visual memory) and not one, as stipulated by Atkinson and Shiffrin. Consequently, a single case study can generate further research into a particular phenomenon (e.g. memory), which contributes to the development of new theories that further our understanding of human behaviour.

Question 15

Evaluation of nomothetic approach (highly scientific methods)

Answer 15

The nomothetic approach makes use of research methods
which objectively produce reliable data through adopting standardised conditions and a
high level of control of extraneous and confounding variables. Constituent parts of the
target behaviour can be reliably measured through the use of operationalised behavioural
categories, thus increasing the internal validity of the findings. Since the findings will not
be influenced by researcher bias, the findings have greater scientific creditability due to
their method of collection.

Question 16

Evaluation of nomothetic approach (establishes laws and principles)

Answer 16

Enables unifying laws and general principles to be reliably established = The focus on
objectively collecting reliable data has led to certain ‘norms’ or standards of behaviour to
be established, such as the average IQ score being 100. Such norms act as a good baseline
comparison for intellectual abilities and mental disorders.

Question 17

Evaluation of nomothetic approach (undervalue impact of individual experience)

Answer 17

Some have criticised the
nomothetic approach as ‘losing the whole person’ in psychology due to such an emphasis
on establishing universal norms and unifying laws of behaviour. For example, research into
the frequency of depression or bipolar disorder tells us little about the experiences of
sufferers and so little about what treatments may be most beneficial. Therefore, the
nomothetic approach, from this standpoint

Question 18

Evaluation point of nomothetic approach (combined approach possible)

Answer 18

Nomothetic and idiographic approaches may be complementary to each other, rather than contradictory. = For example, Milton and Davis (1996) suggest that research should
start with a nomothetic approach and once general laws have been produced the focus
should switch to an idiographic approach to develop our understanding and
theories.Therefore, either approach can be used depending on the aims and nature of the
research.