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IDIOGRAOHIC & NOMOTHETIC APPROACHES - Coggle Diagram
IDIOGRAOHIC & NOMOTHETIC APPROACHES
AO1
idiographic approach
: uses
qualitative
techniques to study the individual in depth. Focus on describing the uniqueness of the subjects personal experience.
Research methods included case studies, unstructured interviews and observations
examples:
humanistic
and
psychodynamic
psychology both use idiographic approaches. Humanists seen individuals as unique and reject scienctific idea of creating general laws. Freud did produce laws of behaviour but based these off of case studies e.g little Hans
remember idiographic as id stands for individual
nomothetic approach
: use
quantitative
techniques to study large groups, then using this data to construct general testable theories/laws/classifications that apply to all
primary research method is standardised scientific experimentation that is objective and controlled
examples:
biological
,
behaviourist
and
cognitive
psychologists use nomothetic approaches as they assume the same principles apply across all humans and have developed and tested their theories by replicable experimental techniques
remember nomothetic as no stands for no-one - approach focuses on large groups of people not on the one person
AO3
strengths
the idiographic approach can contribute to the nomothetic approach
counterpoint: idiographic approach is still narrow and restricted nature of work
Meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further examples as this mean there is no adequate baseline with which to compress behaviour. Case studies tend to be the least scientific as the conclusions often rely on the subjective interpretation of the researcher so are open to bias.
idiographic approach may complement he nomothetic approach by shedding further light on general laws or challenging them
example: case study of HM shows how a single asap may generate hypotheses for further research. Thses provide important insights about normal functioning which may contribute to our overall understanding
both approaches fit with the aims of science
nomothetic research uses experimental design similar to the natural sciences however researchers using idiographic approach seek to objectify their methods so triangulation is used as a range of studies using different qualitative methods are compared as a way of increasing their validity - modern qualitative researchers are also beginning to use reflexivity. This suggest that both nomothetic and idiographic approaches raise psychology status as a science
limitations
nomothetic approach losses the understanding of the individual
nomothetic approach is preoccupied with creating general laws and predictions that it is criticised for 'losing the whole person'. This means in its search for generalities the nomothetic approach mat sometimes fail to relate to 'experience'.
example: knowing that there is a 1% lifetime rise of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone who has been diagnosed with the disorder. Understanding the subjective experience of SZ ma prove useful when it comes to devising appropriate treatments options.