Nomothetic vs idiographic Flashcards
(11 cards)
what is the idiographic approach?
an approach that focuses on individual cases to understand behaviour rather than creating general laws
what is the nomothetic approach?
aims to study human behaviour through development of general principles and universal laws
what implications does this debate have?
implications for the research methods psychologists use in their research
what does the idiographic approach include?
small number of pxs or a single individual
methods that produce qualitative data - unstructured interviews
example of idiographic approach
humanistic approach adopts holistic view focusing on individual experiences. such research methods have led to the development of client centred therapy and maslows hierarchy of needs
what does nomothetic approach include?
large sample of pxs to establish generalisations that apply to all people
lab experiments and controlled observations
extraneous and confounding variables removed to allow reliable conclusions to be made
example of nomothetic approach
behaviourist approach. skinner studied rats to create general laws for learning that apply to all people
objectivity vs subjectivity
nomothetic = objective = standardised procedures to develop laws of behaviour without bias
idiographic = subjective = individual experiences
evaluation of nomothetic vs idiographic (brief)
strength - idiographic produces qualitative data
strength - nomothetic is highly scientific
weakness - RM in idiographic
strengths of nomothetic vs idiographic
idiographic approach produces qualitative data which provides an in depth account of an individual. this qualitative data can be used to support existing theories or challenge general laws, allowing the development of psychological research. for example, the case studies of HM and Clive Wearing provide evidence for the fact that the types of long term memory reside in different areas of the brain. therefore this shows the value that the idiographic approach has on psychological research.
the nomothetic approach is highly scientific and produces objective, reliable, controlled data free from researcher bias. this highly controlled, reliable data has led to norms of behaviour being established, such as the average IQ score being 100. such norms act as a baseline comparison for intellectual abilities and mental disorders. therefore the nomothetic approach is valuable in providing a scientific basis for diagnosis.
weakness of nomothetic vs idiographic
there are issues with the research methods used in idiographic research. for example, case studies and unstructured interviews lack scientific rigour. these methods rely heavily on subjective interpretation meaning that conclusions produced from idiographic research are open to researcher bias. therefore findings lack reliability and this limits how far the findings can be generalised to other people.
