idio a03

• idi has strengths because
• idi is limited because
• nomo is limites
• nonothetic has strnegths
• The use of experimental (quantitative) methods, controlled measurement and the ability to predict behaviour, are all seen as strengths of the nomothetic approach. Furthermore, controlled methods allow for replication to examine the reliability of findings which has helped psychology establish itself as a scientific discipline. The development of theories and empirical testing are just one of the key features of science that are employed by the nomothetic approach.
• Furthermore, because the nomothetic approach is viewed as scientific, it is useful for predicting and controlling behaviour. For example, Biological Psychologists take a nomothetic approach when explaining obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and claim from studying a variety of behaviour in controlled enviornments that OCD is caused by higher levels of dopamine and lower levels of serotonin. Drug therapies are developed on the basis of nomothetic research and work by readdressing a biological imbalance. SSRIs are used to treat OCD and increase the availability and uptake of serotonin, thus reducing the anxiety associated with OCD which helps to improve the lives of people many suffering from this condition, as a result of nomothetic the research.
• However, Furthermore, some psychologists argue that the nomothetic approach loses sight of the ‘whole person’, due to its fixation on quantitative data and statistical analysis.

  there are numerous strengths of taking an idiographic approach, and a case study method is a powerful tool for evaluating psychological theories. The case of Patient KF (Shallice and Warrington, 1970) exposed a limitation of the Multi-Store Model of Memory, by providing evidence that our STM comprises of at least two components (auditory and visual memory) and not one, as stipulated by Atkinson and Shiffrin. Consequently, a single case study can generate further research into a particular phenomenon (e.g. memory) which contributes to the development of new theories that further our understanding of human behaviour.