idiographic and nomothetic approaches

• idiographic-nomothetic debate

  • debate over which position is preferable for psychology :
  • idiographic = detailed study of one individual or one group to provide in-depth understanding
  • nomothetic = study of larger groups with the aims of discovering norms, universal principles or 'laws' of behaviour
  • the 2 approaches may both have a place within a scientific study of the person
• idiographic approach and qualitative research

  • the number of participants is small = often a single individual or group = research might include others (eg friends/family)
  • the initial focus is about understanding the individual, but generalisations might be based on findings
  • qualitative research:
  • eg individual with depression might be interviewed, emergent themes identified and conclusions formed
  • this might help inform mental health professionals determine best practice
• examples of idiographic approach in psychology

  • Roger's concept of counselling = based on his work as a therapist
  • his 'theory' on the role of unconditional positive regard in self-development was based on his in-depth study of his clients
  • Freud's explanation of phobia = based on the detailed case study of Little Hans over many years
• nomothetic approach and quantitative research

  • general principles of behaviour (laws) are developed which are then applied to individual situations, such as therapy
  • quantitative research:
  • hypotheses are formulated, samples of people (or animals) are gathered and data analysed for its statistical significance
  • nomothetic approaches seek to quantify (count) human behaviour
• examples of nomothetic approach in psychology

  • Skinner studied animals = to develop the general laws of learning
  • Sperry's split brain research = involved repeated testing and was, in part, the basis for understanding hemispheric lateralisation
• objective vs subjective

  • idiographic approach:
  • tends to believe objectivity is not possible in psychological research
  • it is people's individual experience of their unique context that is important
  • nomothetic approach:
  • seeks standardised methods of assessing people
  • this ensures true replication occurs across samples of behaviour and removes the contaminating influence of bias
• strength = the approaches work together

  • the ideographic approach uses in-depth qualitative methods which complements the nomothetic approach by providing detail
  • in-depth case studies (eg HM, damaged memory) may reveal insights about normal functioning which contribute to our overall understanding
  • suggests that even though the focus is on fewer individuals, the idiographic approach may help form 'scientific' laws of behaviour
• counterpoint to approaches working together

  • idiographic approach on it's own = restricted, no baseline for comparison, unscientific, subjective
  • suggests that it is difficult to build effective general theories of human behaviour in the complete absent of nomothetic approach
• strength = both approaches fit with the aims of science

  • nomothetic research
  • like natural sciences = seeks objectivity through standardisation, control and statistical testing
  • idiographic research
  • seeks objectivity through triangulation (comparing a range of studies) and reflexivity (researchers examine own biases)
  • suggests that both the nomothetic and idiographic approaches raise psychology's status as a science
• limitation of nom approach = the individual experience is lost

  • nomothetic approach focuses on general laws and may 'lose the whole person' within psychology
  • eg = knowing about the 1% lifetime risk of schizophrenia says little about having the disorder (which might be useful for therapeutic ideas)
  • => in it's search for generalities, the nomothetic approach may sometimes fail to relate to 'experience'
• extra evaluation = distinct or complementary

  • each approach is distinct and appropriate for different situations
  • eg = Schaffer described general stages of attachment (nomothetic) whereas case studies of extreme neglect highlight subjective experience (idiographic)
  • HOWEVER = they may be 2 ends of a continuum
  • eg = when diagnosing personality disorders = clinicians begin with general nomothetic criteria then focus on the individual unique needs
  • suggests that these approaches are not either/or, we can consider the same topic from both perspectives
• strengths of nomothetic approach/weaknesses of idiographic

  • more scientific:
  •  science is all about what can be objectively measured and repeated
  • by using these tools, the nomothetic approach is able to identify general scientific laws of human behaviour
  • practical applications:
  • identifying nomothetic laws of human behaviour is likely to have useful practical applications
  • eg = insights from Zimbardo’s prison study into how humans behave when in certain social roles could inform policies in prisons to reduce abuse
• weaknesses of nomothetic approach/strengths of idiographic

  • exceptions:
  • although the nomothetic approach is able to identify general laws, these laws do not apply universally to every human
  • in contrast, the idiographic approach is able to account for these deviations from the general laws because it treats the individual as unique
  • missing detail:
  • the nomothetic approach is likely to miss important or interesting details about the people studied
  • in contrast, the idiographic approach produces rich data that gives a complete account of the individual studied (e.g. Freud’s case studies)