idiographic vs nomothetic- ISSUES AND DEBATES

Question 1

AO1- idiographic

Answer 1

• individual studied as a unique entity with their own subjective experiences
• no attempt made to compare them to a larger group, standard or norm

-associated with methods that produce qualitative data

• aim is to gain an insight into an individual’s unique way of viewing the world

Question 2

Examples of idiographic approaches

Answer 2

HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY=
- interested in documenting the conscious experiences of an individual, rather than creating general laws of behaviour

PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH=
- Freud’s work considered idiographic due to use of case study method when detailing the lives of his patients eg Little Hans

—–> however Freud assumed he’d identified universal laws of behaviour which is more akin to the nomothetic approach

Question 3

AO3- strengths of idiographic approach

Answer 3

• use of qualitative methods provides a more universal understanding of an individual

Question 4

AO3- limitations of idiographic approach

Answer 4

• can’t generalise findings from one person to anyone else
• Freud has been criticised of creating universal laws from limited and unrepresentative samples
• Idiographic techniques are unreliable and unscientific as they are based on the subjective interpretation of the researcher

Question 5

AO1- what’s the nomothetic approach?

Answer 5

• study large groups of people to identify universal laws of human behaviour
• provide a ‘benchmark’ against which people can be compared, classified and measured
• can predict future behaviour
• associated with scientific methods, like studied involving large groups of people to find similarities between people.

Question 6

Examples of the nomothetic approach

Answer 6

BEHAVIOURISM=
- carried out and replicated lots of studies before establishing their general laws of learning
- studies on rats and pigeons but because they believed learning was universal they applied this to humans.

BIOLOGICAL=
- biological psychologists have carried out many brain scans in order to establish general laws of functioning

Question 7

AO3- strengths of nomothetic approach

Answer 7

• very scientific
• personality questionnaires and mental health classification manuals have proved useful in the selection of personnel and the treatment and diagnosis of disorders. PRACTICAL APPLICATION.
• enables us to predict how people will behave e.g., Zimbardo’s findings about how prisoners and guards react in a prison environment.

Question 8

AO3- limitations of nomothetic approach

Answer 8

• Predictions can be made about groups, but these may not apply to individuals. Generalisations may be too inaccurate for the individual.
• gives a superficial understanding of any one person
• The approach has been accused of losing sight of the ‘whole person.’

Question 9

If asked to relate idiographic-nomothetic debate to 2 other topics…

Answer 9

• SCHIZOPHRENIA ( classification systems- DSM and ICD)
• MEMORY ( idiographic eg case of HM, nomothetic studies like divers and rugby players)