Idiographic and Nomothetic Approaches

what does the idiographic approach tell you?

Attempts to study the nature of an individual, people Are studied as unique entities uses qualitative data

humanistic psychology takes a phenological approach to studying human behaviour

what does the nomothetic approach tell you?

aims to produce laws about human behaviourthese laws allow humans to be compared classified and measured

Many focus on quantitative scientific methods like experiments

Tend to be more reductionist and deterministic most behaviourist cognitive and biological approaches

what do ideographic psychologist say about personality?

Recognise that personality is unique and based off life experience e.g. allbort Found over 18,000 separate terms describing personal characteristics that cannot be studied using standardised test

what do nomothetic psychologist say about personality?

Argue that personality is made up of the same traits in Or individual individuals just in different proportions, e.g.eugenscks Personality tests. We all have to some degree neuroticism. Psychoticism and extraversion