idiographic vs nomothetic

AO1

• the debate - the idiographic vs nomothetic debate centres around whether it is better to develop universal laws about human behaviour or to develop a comprehensive understanding of unique cases

• idiographic

  • this approach emphasises unique experiences of the individual

  • qualitative research methods - open questions in interviews, thematic analysis and case studies

  • depth and insight into the individual

  • case studies - provides in depth detail that can be used to evaluate a theory, inspire future enquiry and instigate paradigm shifts

  • KF - up until this case, the general consensus was that the STM was one unitary memory store. however KF showed that STM was made up of multiple components because he couldnt recall info said to him but could recall if it was read. this challenged the multi store model which was the accepted theory at the time and prompted the proposal of a new model