Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

• An idiographic approach focuses on understanding individuals as unique cases rather than forming general laws.

  • People are studied as unique entities, each with their own subjective experiences, motivations and values
• Idiographic approaches use qualitative methods such as:

  • Case studies (e.g., Freud's study of Little Hans)
  • Unstructured interviews
  • Self-report measures
• Idiographic approaches are associated with humanistic psychology (e.g., Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow) and sometimes psychodynamic psychology (Freud's case studies).
• A nomothetic approach aims to create general laws of human behaviour that apply to everyone. From this, future behaviour can be predicted or controlled.
• Nomothetic approaches use scientific, quantitative methods, including:

  • Experiments (e.g., Skinner’s research on operant conditioning).
  • Brain scans (used in biological psychology to establish universal principles).
  • Large-scale statistical analysis (e.g., cognitive psychology research on memory).
• Nomothetic approaches are associated with behaviourist, cognitive, and biological approaches.
• The idiographic approach provides a rich, in-depth understanding of individual experiences, offering unique insights that may be overlooked by general laws. This is particularly useful in cases such as brain-damaged individuals (e.g., HM), where detailed qualitative analysis has led to a better understanding of memory processes. Additionally, idiographic research can challenge existing theories, contributing to the development of new ones by highlighting anomalies or individual cases that do not fit established patterns.
• A key limitation of the idiographic approach is its lack of generalisability. Since idiographic studies focus on single individuals or small groups, their findings may not be applicable to wider populations. Additionally, idiographic research often relies on subjective interpretation, which introduces potential bias. This reduces its scientific credibility compared to nomothetic methods, which use objective, replicable measures.
• The nomothetic approach is highly scientific, making use of standardised procedures, large sample sizes, and statistical analysis. This allows for the development of general laws of behaviour, enabling psychologists to make predictions and apply findings to real-world situations, such as treatments for mental disorders. For example, research into the biological basis of schizophrenia has led to the development of effective drug treatments.
• A criticism of the nomothetic approach is that it may overlook the richness of human experience. By focusing on creating general laws, it may fail to acknowledge the importance of individual differences. For instance, knowing that there is a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia does not explain the subjective experience of those who suffer from the disorder. Additionally, in studies involving large samples, participants may be treated as a series of scores rather than as unique individuals, leading to a more detached and reductionist understanding of behaviour.
• Rather than viewing the idiographic and nomothetic approaches as separate, modern psychology recognises that they can be complementary. Many areas of research combine both approaches to gain a more comprehensive understanding of behaviour. For example, while cognitive psychologists use nomothetic methods to establish general theories of memory, they also rely on idiographic case studies (e.g., Clive Wearing, HM) to gain detailed insight into amnesia. Similarly, Freud’s psychodynamic approach was largely idiographic, as he used case studies, but he also aimed to identify universal laws of personality development. Therefore, rather than choosing one approach over the other, a combined method may provide the most complete understanding of human behaviour.