idiographic vs nomethetic

idiographic approach

looks at the individual case, no general laws of behaviour, views people as unique, holistic and non-scientific

people are unique definition

recognises people being unique entities and having unique experiences, motivations and values

what are idiographic methods?

case study, diary and interviews, introspection and natural observation

examples of idiographic research

Little Hans, Genie and Phineas Gage

nomethetic approach

general principles and universal laws, provides benchmarks for comparison, scientific

what approach supports idiographic approach?

humanism

what approach supports nomethetic approach?

(neo) behaviourism

nomethetic methods

lab studies, large samples, large surveys with closed q’s, meta analysis

examples of nomethetic research

Pavlov, Asch, F-scale

pro of nomethetic approach

as it is more scientific: reliable data, control of extraneous and confounding variables

con of nomethetic approach

it is dehumanising as it turns the individual into a statistic or ranking ignoring their personal experiences

con of idiographic approach

non scientific: subjective, open to researcher bias and lacks validity

does the idiographic approach give qualitative or quantitative data?

qualitative

advantage of qualitative data

provides a more indepth account of the individual

disadvantage of qualitative data

only gives us an account of one person does that benefit society?

nomethetic and idiographic

can be complementary, idiographic research opens doors for nomethetic research and theory