idiographic vs nomothetic approach

Subdecks (2)

Cards (17)

  • nomothetic- general laws or patterns of behaviour that apply to everyone, involves the studying of a large group of people
  • nomothetic- aims to provide 'norms' from these large sample studies against which people can be compared, classified and measured
  • idiographic approach tends to involve more qualitative research methods- case studies, unstructured interviews, thematic analysis which allows for an in depth insight into individual behaviour