Nomothetic

• Nomothetic approach

  • a scientific approach involving a large number of pps and quantitative research
  • looks at making generalisations and developing theories about behaviour of the wider population
• Nomothetic examples:

  Cognitive psychology- Atkinson and Shiffrin (Multi-store Model)

  Biological psychology- explaining OCD/Depression

  Behaviourists - Pavlov and Skinner (laws of learning)
• -       Large amounts of data so potentially time consuming to collect and sort through 

  +   Data is qualitative so its easier/quicker to spot patterns and interpret 
• +   Theory from Millon and Davis says research often starts being nomothetic, and once laws have been produced, researched can then start to take more of an individual look

  --> Shows the integral role in of nomothetic approaches in the whole of psychology 
• +   The use of large numbers of pps increases reliability and the generalisability/ population validity of the research

  -       The quantitative data means that less of an in depth and well-rounded understanding is possible – complex topics are reduced to numbers