idiographic vs nomothetic

Question 1

what is the idiographic perspective?

Answer 1

• focuses on the individual
• unique experiences
• does not attempt to generalise
• case studies
• unstructured interview
• qualitative data produces description / detail / insight

Question 2

what is the nomothetic perspective?

Answer 2

• people can be regarded as ‘groups’
• attempt to create laws and principles that can be generalised to all
• scientific > quantitative data > analyse > trends and patterns
• universal

NOMOTHETIC APPROACHES
- biological approach
- behaviourist approach

Question 3

evaluate the nomothetic perspective

Answer 3

SCIENTIFIC (+)
- standardised
- standardised
- quantitative
- replicable
- reliable
CA
- less valid
- lacks insight
- what does it tell you about human behaviour?

GUIDELINE / BASELINE / MEASURING TOOL (+)
- e.g. stages of attachment
CA
- does not consider / ignores individual differences
- could lead to misclassification and misdiagnosis
- less meaningful

UNIVERSAL AND SCIENTIFIC (+)
- allows therapies to be developed
- systematic desensitisation
- drug therapy
CA
- behaviours may be missed
- consequences as a result
- labelling

Question 4

evaluate the idiographic perspective

Answer 4

VALID (+)
- insight
- true reflection
- recognises differences / experiences
- rich data
CA
- lacks insight scientific rigar
- not reliable
- can not be generalised
- what practical value does it provide?
- can not develop universal concepts

COMBINED APPROACHES (+/-)
- more effective