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idiographic & nomothetic approaches - Coggle Diagram
idiographic & nomothetic approaches
idiographic
= focuses on individual case to understand behaviour, rather than aiming to formulate general laws
sample is small, often a single case, focus on detail and individual understanding
most research is qualitative where data is then analysed and themes identified
example
= humanistic approach
rogers sought to explain self-development including the role of unconditional positive regard
this was derived from in-depth conversations with clients in therapy
nomothetic
= aims to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws
main aim is generalisation to create general principles of behaviour ('laws'), which then could be applied in individual situations
most research is quantitative, where the numerical data produced is analysed for its statistical significance
example
= behaviourist approach - skinner studied animals to develop the general laws of learning - research looked at one aspect of behaviour in a few animals, but his main aim was to establish general laws
the debate
idiographic
suggests psychology should be the study of individuals, as by obtaining lots of detail about the individual means e can understand human behaviour better
nomothetic
suggests psychology should be the study of large and varied groups, to make generalisations about what is typical in different aspects of human behaviour
both may overlap and have their place within a scientific study of a person
nomothetic = objectivity, whereas idiographic = subjectivity
nomothetic
laws of behaviour only possible if methods of assessment are delivered in a standardised way
ensures true replication across samples of behaviour
idiographic
peoples individual experience of their unique context is important
evaluation
evaluation of idiographic
strength
= contributes to the nomothetic approach
uses in-depth, qualitative methods
may compliment nomothetic by shedding further light on general laws or by challenging them
eg = cases like hm may reveal important insights about normal functioning, which may contribute to our overall understanding
suggests it may still help form ‘scientific’ laws of behaviour
counterpoint
= nature of work is narrow and restricted
meaningful generalisations can’t be made without further examples, due to a lack of an adequate baseline to compare behaviour
also methods such as case studies tend to be the least scientific as they rely on subjective interpretation
suggests it’s difficult to build effective general theories of human behaviour without nomothetic research
evaluation of nomothetic
strength
= fit with the aims of science
processes involved are similar to those used in the natural sciences and objectivity is established
eg = triangulation is used to increase validity
also qualitative researchers are careful to reflect upon their own biases
suggests this approach raises psychology's status as a science
limitation
= loss of understanding of the individual
preoccupied with general laws, prediction and control
eg = knowing there’s a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone who has been diagnosed with the disorder
means the approach may sometimes fail to relate to ‘experience’