Paper 3 - Issues And Debates - Nomothetic And Ideographic Flashcards
What is the nomothetic approach?
The nomothetic approach looks at how our behaviours are similar to each other as human beings, to generate general laws and create universality. (They tend to use quantitive methods with large groups of people)
Nomos - the greek word word for (general) laws
What is an idiographic approach?
Idiographic - looks at how our behaviours are different to each other. (They tend to use qualitative methods with individuals)
Idios - The greek word for private
What does the nomothetic approach infer about personality tests?
Our personality should be consistent and predictable
What are the advantages of personality tests?
They enable us to predict behaviour
Some test like IQ tests can be used to predict some behaviours like mental ability
Some tests do enable us to show which personalities may be best suited to jobs like the police force (Hathaway 1970)
What is the fundamental attribution error?
The idea that we tend to attribute more significance to situational factors when considering the causes of our own behaviour but attribute more significance to personality characteristics when considering causes of the behaviour of others
What are the problems with personality tests?
• personality is difficult to operationalise
• We can’t be sure any measurement is valid
• fundamental attribution error
• Tests are all different As they are based on different theories eg (Eysneck) Test are often not generalisable to all people in all situations
• There is a disagreement over whether research shows that behaviours based on personality tests can often be predicted
What did Gorden Allport find?
Gordon Allport found over 18,000 separate terms describing personal characteristics.
What is the ideographic approach to personality?
At the other extreme, Gordon Allport found over 18,000 separate terms describing personal characteristics.
Whilst some of these are common traits (that could be investigated nomothetically)
the majority, in Allport’s view, referred to more or less unique dispositions based on life experiences peculiar to ourselves.
He argues that they cannot be effectively studied using standardised tests. What is needed is a way of investigating them idiographically.
Explain a bit about differences in personality’s.
What does this suggest?
• Some individuals may show more consistent personality traits, so may be more influenced by these traits
• Some personality traits will only emerge in some situations
• Some individuals will be more affected by the environment in
which they are in than their personality traits
• This suggests we should view personality in a more idiographic way
What are the advantages of the nomothetic approach?
• It is Scientific
• It isTesting under standardised conditions
• Using data sets to provide group averages
• Statistical analysis, predictions and control
• Gives psychology greater scientific credibility
What are the disadvantages of the nomothetic approach?
• By looking at characteristics as the same between everyone you will loose individual differences
• Subjectivity experience is ignored
• Overlooks the richness of human experience (and therefore generalises a lot)
Example: knowing there is a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone with schizophrenia
• In lab studies involving tests of memory, for example, participants are
treated as scores, rather than people. Which is reducing humans to numbers which could be seen as unethical
What are the advantages of the ideographic approach?
• In-depth methods of investigation
• Provides a complete and global account of the individual.
• Case studies such as HM, Phineas Gage
What research did Bem do?
She started the theory:
The gender schema theory (1981)
What is the gender schema theory?
• A cognitive theory to explain how individuals become gendered in society, and how sex-linked characteristics are maintained and transmitted to other members of a culture
What are the disadvantages of the ideographic approach?
• Narrow and restrictive
• Meaningful generalisations cannot be made- no comparison of
behaviour, for example, Little Hans and the Oedipus complex
• Less scientific due to subjectivity
