Idiographic vs nomothetic approaches

Idiographic vs nomothetic approaches

Considers whether it is more important to establish norms across groups, or to study the individual- seeing them as unique

Which approach is more appropriate in aiding our understanding of behaviour?

Nomothetic approach

Establishing general laws of behaviour based on the study of large groups of participants

Research methods used in nomothetic approach

Experiments, correlations, meta analysis

Uses statistical analysis through quantitative data collection

Example of research using nomothetic approach

Milgram’s obedience research- collected quantitative data. Was controlled, reliable and internally valid

Research obedience and concluded that situational factors influence obedience on all individuals

Pros of nomothetic approach .

• Controlled

• Reliable

• High internal validity

• Large samples- generalisable

• Statistical analysis- can identify patterns and trends

Cons of nomothetic approach

Not in depth/detailed- less likely to understand personal experience

Biological approach (nomothetic)

• takes a nomothetic approach

• Adopts scientific methods to identify trends and generate causal laws

• E.g. When explaining psychological disorders (e.g. OCD) they pinpoint biological factors that tend to be responsible for disorders and use this law to inform treatments, such as drug therapies, to treat all patients with

• Psychopathology classification systems such as the DSM and ICD are used to diagnose psychological illness- nomothetic classification tools

behaviourism (nomothetic)

Behaviourists (e.g. Watson, Pavlov, Skinner)- conduct research using animals to draw general laws of learning, such as CC and OC.

They generalise these laws to humans and animals and these laws can be used in treatments (e.g. behaviourist approach for treating phobias- flooding and systematic desensitisation.

Idiographic approach

Focuses of the individual and emphasise unique personal experience

It emphasises free will and does not aim to formulate laws of generalise results to others

Research methods used by idiographic approach

Qualitative research methods

Case studies, unstructured interviews and thematic analysis to gain depth and insight into individual behaviour

Pros of idiographic approach (case studies)

• case studies provide an in-depth insight into an individual or small group, which can be used to evaluate a theory

• Can be found to undermine while theories and inspire further inquiry

• High ecological validity- studying real life

Cons of idiographic approach (case studies)

• small sample- not generalisable

• Subjective- researcher bias

Example of research with idiographic approach

Case study of Clive Wearing useful in evidencing the existence of different long term memory stores - demonstrates the usefulness of an idiographic approach and case studies in psychology

Humanism (idiographic)

• uses qualitative research methods: case studies, unstructured interviews, thematic analysis

• Focuses on individual and emphasise unique personal experience

• Attempts to gain depth and insight into individual behaviour

Psychodynamic (combo)

• attempts to make generalisable laws ( e.g. the unconscious drives our behaviour, 5 psychosexual stages)

• He also considers unique psychological experiences and uses case studies (e.g. Little Hans)

• Freud’s case study work contributed to psychology as it emphasised the importance of early childhood events on impacting adult behaviour (eg. Attachment and offending)

AO3- psychology as a science

P- nomothetic approach considered scientific

E- this is because it adopts a quantitative experimental method and findings from such research have the ability to predict behaviour. Whereas, the idiographic approach uses qualitative methods and therefore has been criticised for its unscientific nature, subjectivity and inability to draw general laws or predictions

E- this limits the usefulness particularly in its application and treatment of psychological disorders.

L- However supporters of the idiographic approach argue that psychologists need to understand the single individual in order to predict behaviour- its in-depth analysis increases the validity of its findings over the reliance of statistics

AO3- nomothetic approach is useful

P- nomothetic approach adopts the laws of science so it is useful in identifying trends, predicting and controlling behaviour which has useful applications

E- biological perspective adopts a biological approach when explaining the cause of disorders, such as OCD. This has led do the development of drug therapies to treat chemical imbalances, such as SSRIs.

E- however, some psychologists argue that alternate treatment such as CBT and talking therapies are more suitable as the pay adopt a more person centred approach - based on the principles of an idiographic approach

L- must consider which approach is more useful

AO3 - combination

P- idiographic and nomothetic approaches should be used in combination

E- an idiographic stance, such as a case study often prompts an idea for further research. An idiographic study explores a behaviour or phenomenon with depth and detail that will often lead to new research ideas or challenge previous theories and assumptions from nomothetic approach. This suggests that both methods have value and psychology should adopt a mixed methods approach with idiographic and nomothetic methods used to complement and challenge each other

E- can be seen in approaches such as the cognitive approach: use nomothetic approaches to draw general laws but also uses idiographic methods to explore topics such as memory in more depth

L- idiographic/nomothetic distinction could be seen as a false separation