idio/nomo

• What is the idiographic approach?

  An approach that focuses more on the individual, unique case and experience to understand behaviour.
• What is the nomothetic approach?

  Aims to study human behaviour to develop general principles and universal laws (of behaviour)
• What methods are associated with the idio approach?

  • Methods that produce qualitative data
  • Case studies, unstructured interviews, self-report measures
  • Aims to describe richness of human experience
• What methods are associated with the nomo approach?

  • More quantative/scientific methods
  • experiments and standardised procedures to be able to generalise findings
• Strength for idio (AO3)

  • In-depth and usage of qualitative methods results in further depth of research and wider understanding in psychological concepts
  • May compliment nomothetic approaches by shedding light on laws or challenging established laws
  • For example,
• Limitation for idio (AO3)

  • Case studies or individual based methods of study are commonly subject to bias and are still restricted to forming conclusions
  • For example, using Phineas Gage as a case study to support theories of localisation
  • This was largely an issue as it was an idio approach aiming to generate general laws on localisation, additionally significant findings from Phineas could not be representative of the wider population
  • E.g. behavioural changes may have been relative to Gage himself or a result of his brain infection
  • As a result case studies/idio approaches tend to lack external validity in which prevents important conclusions to be formed
  • May lack scientific credibility
• Strength for nomo (AO3)

  • More scientific in using standardised conditions in which largely have high IV and are representative of wider populations
  • E.g. establishing norms or typical baselines of behaviour has aided the scientific credibility of psychology
  • As a result numerical baselines can be compared across both neurotypical and neurodivergent behaviours
  • Has become applicable in identifying mental disorders such as IDD with a low IQ of 70, differing from the average of 100
  • Practical app in identifying statistical infrequencies of human behaviours and how this may result in deviations
• Limitation for nomo (AO3)

  • 'Loses the person in psychology'
  • Laws prediction and control reduce behaviour down to numerical principles, ignoring the subjective experiences of psychology
  • E.g. schizophrenia being reduced to a 1% lifetime risk ignores what the experience is for individuals who have the disorder or 7% with cannabis usage
  • Fails to account for personal experiences such as symptoms, and issues with relapse which sufferers face, preventing our understanding and possible treatment in which a one size fits all approach would not be appropriate
• Limitation for both?

  • Idio and nomo should be viewed as complementary rather than contradictory
  • This is because many psychologists use both techniques to either generate general laws or to gain wider insight into a subject matter
  • For example, the implications of Little Albert, an idiographic case study on how phobias may be developed which resulted in the development of how phobias in general are both developed and maintained
  • As a result led to appropriate treatments in which could not be identified without aims of both