Issues and Debates: Idiographic and nomothetic approach

Question 1

What is the nomothetic approach

Answer 1

• looks at how our behaviours are similar to each other as human beings.
  -> tends to use quantitative methods

Question 2

What is the idiographic approach

Answer 2

• looks at how our behaviours are different to each other.
  -> tends to use qualitative methods.

Question 3

What are personality tests

Answer 3

• assess personality type in order to make your behaviour predictable.
• are often used to determine the likely success within a new job field, marriage etc.

Question 4

(+) What are the advantages of personality tests (Hathaway)

Answer 4

• Enables us to predict behaviour:
• Some tests like IQ tests can be used to predict some behaviours like mental agility.
• Some tests DO enable us to show which personalities which may be best suited to jobs like the police force. (Hathaway)

Question 5

What is Fundamental Attribution Error

Answer 5

• 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.

Question 6

(-) What are the problems with personality tests

Answer 6

• Personality is difficult to operationalise.
• are very restricting criteria -> e.g. can you not be ‘outgoing’ and ‘calm’ at the same time.
  -> reductionist, reduces people’s personality/character to 1 or more traits.
• risk of fundamental attribution errors.

Question 7

(-) Explain how there are individual differences with personality (personality tests)

Answer 7

• 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.

Question 8

What are the Nomothetic approaches

Answer 8

• Psychodynamic -> both nomo + idio
• Biological
• Behaviourism
• Cognitive
  -> E.g. Pavlov’s dogs -> classical conditioning in dogs is said to be applicable to humans.

Question 9

(+) what is the case for the nomothetic approach

Answer 9

• Scientific.
• Testing under standardised conditions.
• Statistical analysis, predictions and control.
• Gives psychology greater scientific credibility.

Question 10

(-) what is the case against the nomothetic approach

Answer 10

• ‘losing the whole person’ -> reductionist.
• In lab studies involving tests of memory, for example, participants are treated as scores, rather than people.
• Subjectivity of experience is ignored.
• Example: knowing there is a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone with schizophrenia.

Question 11

(+) what is the case for the idiographic approach

Answer 11

• In-depth methods of investigation.
• Provides a complete and global account of the individual.
• Case studies such as HM, Phineas Gage.

Question 12

(-) what is the case against the ideographic approach

Answer 12

• 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.

Question 13

(+) Explain how the 2 approaches can be complementary rather than contradictory

Answer 13

• Should we consider the 2 approaches side by side.
• E.g. The gender schema theory (1981)
  -> 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.