nonmothtci and idiographic Flashcards
Nomothetic approaches…
Tries to establish genal laws for everybody
Idiographic approaches…
Bfocus on individual differences.
Which research method is nomothetic?
Dcorrelational studies
Aexperiments
Nomothetic methods use data because they are trying to establish general laws about an entire population.
Quanatative
Idiographic methods involve…
Cdetailed studies of individuals
Idiographic methods tend to use…
Acase studies
Because idiographic methods try to get a detailed understanding of an individual’s differences, they often use qualitative data like…
Bwords
Cdescriptions
Name two idiographic methods of data collection.
You needed to say the following: Unstructured interviews.
You also needed to say the following: Open questions.
Which of the approaches primarily use nomothetic methods?
ABehaviourist
BSocial Learning Theory
DBiological
ECognitive
And the psychodynamic approach…
Aaims for nomothetic theories, but only uses idiographic methods.
The humanistic approach…
Csays we should only use idiographic methods.
Which of the following is a nomothetic method?
Correlational studies and experiments use are nomothetic methods because they gather quantitative data and focus on explaining and predicting general patterns of behaviour rather than focusing on the details of individual people.
One argument in favour of nomothetic methods is that they are more scientific, because they aim to establish ______, which allow us to make ______. Conversely, idiographic methods are often criticised for being ________, because they don’t try to establish general laws.
One argument in favour of nomothetic methods is that they are more scientific, because they aim to establish general laws , which allow us to make predictions . Conversely, idiographic methods are often criticised for being unscientific , because they don’t try to establish general laws.
Allport argued against the criticism that idiographic methods do not allow us to make _____. He pointed out that there are limitations to how predictive methods can be. In fact, Allport argued that _____ allow better predictions than nomothetic methods, because they allow us to understand far more about an individual.
Allport argued against the criticism that idiographic methods do not allow us to make predictions . He pointed out that there are limitations to how predictive nomothetic methods can be. In fact, Allport argued that idiographic methods allow better predictions than nomothetic methods, because they allow us to understand far more about an individual.
diographic research is often ______ than nomothetic research.
more feasible
It may be more to undertake idiographic research than nomothetic research, either because like time and money are too limited to study lots of participants, or because there aren’t enough participants to study nomothetically. But on the other hand, idiographic methods like conducting interviews and interpreting data take a long time per participant. Therefore, idiographic methods are only more feasible because they involve fewer participants.
It may be more feasible to undertake idiographic research than nomothetic research, either because resources like time and money are too limited to study lots of participants, or because there aren’t enough participants to study nomothetically. But on the other hand, idiographic methods like conducting interviews and interpreting qualitative data take a long time per participant. Therefore, idiographic methods are only more feasible because they involve fewer participants.
Idiographic methods are often criticised because they do not aim to establish . But, by providing greater insight into an individual, idiographic methods might actually allow better , as Allport argued. However, nomothetic methods are often preferred, when they are , because they are seen as more scientific
Idiographic methods are often criticised because they do not aim to establish general laws . But, by providing greater insight into an individual, idiographic methods might actually allow better predictions , as Allport argued. However, nomothetic methods are often preferred, when they are feasible , because they are seen as more scientific.
Why doesn’t it make sense to ask the question, ‘Should psychologists be using either nomothetic or idiographic methods?’
ASome methods combine lots of detail and lots of participants.
BThe scientific process needs both idiographic and nomothetic methods, depending on the situation.
. Explain why some psychologists consider idiographic methods to be unscientific.
Idiographic methods are often criticised for being unscientific, because they don’t try to establish general laws. Because conclusions from idiographic research aren’t meant to be true in all cases, this means that idiographic research is impossible to falsify, and is therefore seen as unscientific.
Write an evaluation paragraph on whether idiographic and nomothetic methods can be combined. [4 marks]
Both idiographic and nomothetic methods are vital to the scientific process. Ultimately, a scientific approach to psychology aims to establish general laws, and this requires nomothetic methods. However, nomothetic methods are often only feasible after idiographic research has taken place because idiographic methods are often less resource-intensive, especially when they involve fewer participants. Furthermore, idiographic methods often provide more detail, so idiographic and nomothetic methods are often combined within the same approach. However, some researchers argue that we can go further by combining idiographic and nomothetic elements within the same methodology. One example is Q methodology, which combines a greater level of detail with a higher number of participants. However, ultimately, Q methodology fails to achieve as much detail as an idiographic study, and usually involves fewer participants than a nomothetic study. Therefore, researchers ultimately need to consider more nomothetic and more idiographic methods and make compromises between the advantages and limitations of each.
