Idiographic Vs Nomothetic

• Idiographic approach is a qualitative method of research that usually has a small amount of participants and its focus is on understanding the unique experience of the individuals. However, generalisations may be based on findings. (e.g. Little Hans case study).
• Nomothetic approach is quantitative research that creates general principles of behaviour (laws) which are then applied to individuals. It consist of creating a hypothesis, finding samples of people and gather data which is then analysed for statistical significance. (e.g. Skinner studied animals to develop general laws of learning
• Strength) The nomothetic approach uses standardised methods (e.g. experiments, statistics), which make findings reliable and objective. For example, large scale studies on memory (like millers digit span) produce general laws that apple to most people.
• Strength) The idiographic approach provides rich detail and insight of individual cases. For example, case studies like HM offer insight into memory that wouldn't be capture through experiments alone.
• Limitation) The idiographic approach uses qualitiative methods like case studies which may be subjective and hard to replicate. For example, Freuds theories were based on a small number of case studies, making them less reliable.