P3: Issues and debates in Psychology Flashcards
What is the idiographic approach?
‘Private’ or ‘personal’
An approach to research that focusses on the individual case as a means of understanding behaviour, rather than formulating general laws.
Psychology should be the study of individuals.
What is the nomothetic approach?
‘Law’
Aims to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws.
Psychology should be the study of large groups to make generalisations.
What form is most of idiographic research?
Qualitative- in depth interviews.
Data is then analysed and themes are identified.
What approaches are associated with the idiographic approach?
Humanistic and Psychodynamic
Eg. Freud’s Little Hans
What form is most of nomothetic research?
Quantitative- Closely fits traditional models of the ‘scientific model.’
Hypotheses are formulated, samples are assessed in the same way and numerical data is analysed.
What approaches are associated with the nomothetic approach?
Behaviourist and Biological (even though they sometimes use small samples)
Eg. Skinner’s rats
Sperry’s split brain research
Is the nomothetic approach subjective or objective?
Objective- because the laws are delivered in a standardised way.
Ensures true replication occurs across samples.
What are idiographic researches beliefs about objectivity?
Objectivity in research is not possible.
It is individual experience that is important.
What is a strength of the idiographic approach?
Contributes to the nomothetic approach.
Uses in-depth, qualitative methods to provide a global description of an individual.
This can compliment the nomothetic approach by giving more info on general laws or challenging them.
This suggests that even though the focus is on fewer individuals, the idiographic approach may still help form ‘scientific’ laws of behaviour.
What is a counter-argument to the idiographics contribution to the nomothetic approach?
Supporters of the idiographic approach should acklowedge the narrow and restricted nature of their work. Meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further research- no baseline to compare.
Methods (eg case studies) are less scientifics- conclusions depend on the subjective interpretation of the researcher.
It is difficult to build effective general theories of human behaviour in the absence of nomothetic research.
What is a strength of both approaches?
They fit with the aims of science.
Processes involved in the nomothetic approach are similar to those in natural sciences- standardisation, statistical testing ect.
Idiographic also seeks objectivity- triangulisation where finndings from a range of studies are compared to increase validity.
Both approaches raise psychology’s status as a science.
What is a limitation of the nomothetic approach?
Loss of understanding of the individual.
Preoccupied with general laws, prediction and control- loss of the whole person.
Eg. more useful to understand the experience of depressed individuals rather than the percent likelihood of developing it.
In its search for generalties it fails to relate to ‘experience.’
What is determinism?
The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by a internal or external forces rather than an indivual’s will to do something.
What is the difference between hard and soft determinism?
Hard determinism is the view that all behaviour is caused by something whereas soft determinism is the view that behaviour is predictable but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities.
What are the three types of determinism?
Biological, environmental and psychic
