idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

Idiographic approach

The idiographic approach focuses on the nature of the individual and emphasises their uniqueness. People are studied as having their own subjective experiences, motivations and values. There is no attempt made to compare them to a larger group or developing general principles. The idiographic approach is associated with methods that produce qualitative data, such as case studies, unstructured interviews and other self repost measures

Examples of the idiographic approach

• humanistic psychology is the best example of the idiographic approach, Roger’s and Maslow were interested only in documenting the conscious and unique experience of the individual

• The psychodynamic approach is labelled as idiographic because Freud used case studies and in depth interviews to collect qualitative data from his patients, for example Little Hans

Nomothetic approach

The nomothetic approach focuses on producing general laws of behaviour based on the study of groups and the use of statical, quantitative techniques. The approach is most closely aligned with methods that would be regarded as ‘scientific’ such as experiments. These involve the study of large numbers of people to compare and establish ways in which people are similar or different

Examples of the nomothetic approach

• the Behaviourist approach explains all behaviour in terms of simple stimulus-response links which have been learnt through experience. In order to collect valid and reliable data, behaviourists often use lab experiments allowing cause and effect variables to be established

• The cognitive approach uses objective methods of measuring brain activity, such as EEG and PET scans allowing inferences to be drawn

• The biological approach also makes use of brain scans to make inferences about localisation of brain function

Strengths

• one strengths of the idiographic approach is its production of qualitative data produces an in-depth and more complete account for the individual - this may support existing theories or challenge general laws and lead to development of improved psychological theories

• One strength of the nomothetic approach is that it uses highly scientific methods - the nomothetic approach makes use of research methods which objectively produce reliable data through adapting standardised conditions and the control of extraneous variables

Limitations

• one limitation of the idiographic approach is that it offers a narrow and restrictive perspective - theories from case studies and unstructured interviews may struggle to be generalised beyond the individual, thus reducing the ecological validity of these findings. This means that the idiographic approach does not improve the scientific credibility of psychology

• One limitation of the nomothetic approach is that it may undervalue the impact of individual experiences- some have criticised the nomothetic approach as ‘losing the whole person’ due to such emphasis on establishing universal norms and unifying laws of behaviour based on large groups of people