idiographic v nomothetic approach

• idiographic approach:

  • single case + describes nature of individuals no comparison to groups
  • studied as unique entities, own subjective experiences
  • case studies + unstructured interviews
• examples of idiographic approach:

  • humanistic approach - documents experiences of self + unique experiences
  • psychodynamic approach - case study method, Freud believed he could universally apply laws of development
• nomothetic approach:

  • general laws of behaviour + studies groups to find similarities - creates norm people are compared to + measured
  • associated with scientific methods e.g standardisation, stat tests
• examples of nomothetic approach:

  • slt - large samples, lab experiment
  • cognitive - coding, capacity, duration + brain scans
  • behavioural - pavlov, skinner applied to everyone
  • biological - brain scans, concordance rates
• EVALUATION: focus on individual

  • too much emphasis on measurement + lost sight of being human
  • Allport - knowing someone can predict what theyll do in situation, 1% lifetime risk of schizophrenia tells us little about experience
  • focus more on individual level + complete understanding
• EVALUATION: scientific basis

  • predictions useful - drug therapy, bio psychologists take in approach, ssris leads to therapy, better the lives of people
  • not impossible from idiographic, but takes time for personal therapies
  • make predictions about most likely therapeutic solutions
• EVALUATION: complementary rather than contradictory

  • bem's androgyny scale attempted to establish laws of atypical behaviour e.g David Reimer
  • individuals lead to greater research e.g amnesia HM/Wearing and memory
  • complementary more in line with psych goals