Nomothetic

Question 1

Nomothetic

Answer 1

• Draws conclusions about populations of people and makes generalisations to the wider group
• Nomothetic approach seeks to establish general laws about behaviour that can be applied across any given population
• Provide a benchmark against which people can be compared, classified and measured.
• Provides a basis of which future behaviour can be predicted and controlled

Question 2

Why is it qualitative

Answer 2

• Observations and correlations have their place to as they collect statistical data to provide generalisations from a large set of data.
• Experiments involve the study of large numbers of people in order to establish ways in which people are similar

Question 3

Examples of Nomothetic - diagnosis

Answer 3

• Diagnostic manuals for mental health are based on the nomothetic approach
• DSM and ICD attempt to diagnose people with a mental health diagnosis by the symptoms they have

Question 4

Examples of Nomothetic - Milgram

Answer 4

• Most of psychological knowledge until 1980s was derived from nomothetic approaches
• Social Psychology - Milgram obedience theory and Bandura’s Social Learning theory all came from experiments and propose general laws or rules to understand and predict behaviour

Question 5

Gender and Nomothetic

Answer 5

• Gender theories nomothetic and includes psychodynamic theory of gender development
• Although its work often has idiographic stance it is divided into male and female development and states the stages of the Oedipus and Electra complex in all boys and girls
• Compromises aspects of both nomothetic and idiographic approaches

Question 6

Schizophrenia and Nomothetic

Answer 6

• Area lends self well to nomothetic is treatment of schizophrenia
• Drug therapies developed from nomothetic research which sees cause of schizophrenia as rooted in biology of those suffering
• Cognitive behavioural therapy approach is more idiographic and requires therapist to listen to patients individual view point.

Question 7

Forensics and Nomothetic

Answer 7

• Reasons behind offending behaviour a part from cognitive distortions are heavily nomothetic as seek to explain why offenders do what they do and generalise across all offenders
• When considering treatment of offenders that more idiographic approach adopted
• Behaviour modification firmly nomothetic as applying principles of behaviourism, anger management ids required to look at individual circumstances of offender and their thought processes - more idiographic
• Restorative justice programmes consider unique combination of offender and victim and are also more idiographic

Question 8

Approaches and Nomothetic

Answer 8

• Operant conditioning skinner proposed the law effect
• According to this principle behaviour that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated and behaviour followed by unpleasant consequences are less likely to be repeateed

Question 9

Memory and Nomothetic

Answer 9

• Miller described the capacity of STM as 5-9 items
• Sometimes referred to as Millers law that STM has a standard and limited amount it can hold - nomothetic
• Case study of HM who could not commit new facts or events to LTM but STM and memory of events pre surgery was intact is an example of idiographic research
• Case has proved invaluable in revealing how different types of LTM are more resistant to forgetting and may be stored in different areas of the brain

Question 10

Evaluation of Nomothetic - More Scientific

Answer 10

• Nomothetic methods are objective and measurable. Tests can be conducted under standardised conditions using data sets that provide group averages and statistical analysis
• Example - research into IQ and intelligence has produced norms of behaviour such as a human IQ average of 100
• Strength - research can be verified so replication, prediction and control of behaviour is easy

Question 11

However - more scientific

Answer 11

• Due to nomothetic approach studying a large number of people and then making generalisations about behaviour, uniqueness of an individual is lost
• Milgrams research found that 65% of participants obeyed as they were ordered to do so
• Fails to provide and explanation why each individual person obeyed or disobeyed

Question 12

Evaluation of Nomothetic - Less time consuming

Answer 12

• Questionnaires or psychological tests can be given to a large number of p
• Strength as psychologists can gain a large amount of data simultaneously as opposed to an idiographic approach which be one interview or case study at a time

Question 13

However - less time consuming

Answer 13

• Whole person has been lost
• Knowing that there is a 1% risk of developing schizophrenia tells us very little about what life is like for someone with the disorder

Question 14

Evaluation of Nomothetic - Can be Complementary

Answer 14

• Idiographic and nomothetic approaches should not be seen as conflicting. Insights from an idiographic approach can shed more light on general principles developed using nomothetic approach
• Bowlby theory of maternal deprivation suggests that extreme maternal deprivation is irreversible. Theory was developed using nomothetic approach. Case of Koluchova twins demonstrates that in this idiographic case of maternal deprivation was overcome. The theory can be challenged
• Strength - considering a topic from both perspectives means we are able to provide rich detailed descriptions of human behaviour as well as explanations of behaviour within the frame work of general laws
• Taking this eclectic approach reflects what everyday psychologists do in their jobs.