Idiographic and Nomothetic

Idiographic approach

Attempts to explain the nature of individuals and argues that people should be studied as unique entities with their own subjective experiences, motivations and values that contribute to individual development

Produces qualitative data that aims to describe the richness and detail of human experiences

Cannot create general laws do to chance, free will and uniqueness of individuals

Humanistic

Nomothetic approach

Aims to create general laws of human behaviour, provides a benchmark where people can be compared, classified or measured

• Classifying people into groups

• Establishing principles of behaviour that can be applied to people in general

• Establishes dimensions along which people can be placed, compared and measured

Associated with scientific methods that produce quantitative data

Aims to study large numbers of people in order to establish ways people are similar

Behaviourist and Biological

Combination approach

Would be more beneficial to combine both approaches as we can establish general patterns and theories and get detailed data from individual case studies

Evaluation points

+Idiographic allows investigators to have an in depth view of behaviour and traits in an individual

+Processes in the nomothetic approach are highly scientific

-Nomothetic may be less accurate or applicable

+Combining both approaches