Nomothetic vs idiographic. Flashcards
Key term: idiographic approach.
An approach to research that focuses more on the individual case as a means of understanding behaviour, rather than formulating general laws of behaviour.
Key term: nomothetic approach.
An approach that attempts to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws.
Context.
This debate considers whether idiographic or nomothetic approaches to research into psychology are appropriate.
- Ultimately asks question of: ‘Is it more important to look at the individual as unique or should you consider them as part of a group and try to establish similarities for that group?’
Idiographic approach.
- Shows the emphasis on the self and the uniqueness of the individual. People are studied as unique entities, each with their own subjective experiences, motivations and values.
- This viewpoint does not seek to generalise to other from research. Researchers using this approach would be unlikely to conduct long-scale studies or use quantitative methods at all - irrelevant to try and develop universal laws on behaviours.
- Helps to describe the richness of human experience and gain insight into the person’s unique way of viewing the world.
Examples of idiographic approach - Humanistic approach.
- Humanistic approach took to studying human beings with the central element being the ‘self’ or the experience of the individual.
- In describing themselves as ‘anti-scientific’, humanistic psychologists were more concerned with investigating unique experience on its own merits rather than producing general laws of behaviour.
Examples of idiographic approach - Psychodynamic approach.
- Psychodynamic approach often labelled ‘idiographic’ because of Freud’s use of the case study method when detailing the lives of patients.
- However, Freud also assumed he has identified universal laws of behaviour and personality development which is more in line with the nomothetic approach.
Strength of idiographic approach.
P: A strength of the idiographic approach is that its in-depth methods of investigation provides a complete and global account
of the individual.
E: This may complement the nomothetic approach by shedding further light on general laws and challenging them.
C: This means that single cases may generate hypothesis for further study which may contribute to overall understanding of
psychological phenomena.
Limitation of idiographic approach.
P: A limitation is that supporters of the idiographic approach must still recognise the narrow and restricted nature of their work.
E: Meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further examples, as there is no adequate baseline with which to compare
behaviour. This can be seen in examples of Freud’s theories that have been developed from one single case study.
C: Case studies tend to be the least scientific conclusions of
behaviour and rely on subjective interpretation of the researcher, leaving them open to bias.
Nomothetic approach.
- States we are able to draw conclusions about populations of people and generalise to a wider group than the ones directly involves in research (who the p’s represent).
- Seeks to establish general laws about behaviour that can be applied across any given population.
- These provide a ‘benchmark’ against which people can be compared, classified and measured on the basis of future behaviour being predicted/controlled.
- Involves the study of larger numbers of people in order to establish ways in which people are similar and inform us of the ways people are different from one another.
Example of nomothetic approach - classification.
- Idea that people can be classified into certain groups according to characteristics, attitudes or behaviour.
- It’s the foundation on which the diagnostic manuals for mental health are based.
- ICD-10 and DSM-5 both attempt to diagnose people with a mental health disorder by the symptoms they present - this is an attempt of classification.
Examples of nomothetic approach - behaviourist, cognitive and biological.
- Much of research conducted by these psychologists would meet the criteria of nomothetic approach.
- In these approaches, hypothesis are rigorously tested, statistically analysed and general laws and principles are proposed and developed.
- Proposed there are different types of general laws (Redford and Kirby, 1975).
- Establishing principles: focus on trying to establish laws and principles that can be applied to human behaviour such as Behaviourism.
- Establishing dimensions: the attempt to document continuums upon which an individual can be placed. Allows comparison with others and scientific measurement.
- Widely used in personality research where we have a level of a certain trait and the variation of this influences behaviour.
Application to SZ.
- Drug therapies are developed from nomothetic research, which sees the cause of SZ as rooted in biology of those suffering with it. The biological cause is thought to be the same in all schizophrenics, therefore a drug treatment that addresses the biochemical imbalance is appropriate.
- However, CBT approach is treating SZ is more idiographic and requires a therapist to listen to the patient’s individual viewpoint.
Strength of nomothetic approach.
P: A strength of the nomothetic approach is that the research tends to be scientific, mirroring those employed within the natural
sciences.
E: This means that behaviour is tested under standardised
conditions, using data sets that provide group averages, statistical analysis, prediction and control.
T: This arguably gives the discipline of psychology greater scientific credibility.
Limitation of nomothetic approach.
P: A limitation is when being preoccupied on general laws,
prediction and control, we lose the whole person within
psychology.
E: For example, knowing that there is a 1% lifetime risk of
developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone who is experiencing the disorder. Similar to other lab studies where participants are treated as scores, rather than
individuals.
T: This means that the nomothetic approach may overlook the richness of the human experience.
Nomothetic approach to psychological investigation:
- Ainsworth’s attachment styles - tested infants using the strange situation methodology to propose three attachment types that have been used to predict human attachment behaviour.
- Milgram’s research into obedience.
- Asch’s research into conformity.
