nomothetic

• Nomothetic: "nomos" law - There are general rules that apply to all
• Nomothetic research uses a large and representative sample of participants, and findings generate new laws of behaviour or support existing theories.
• Inferences are made about the broader population based on the behaviour of the sample. This process of generalisation allows researchers to make predictions.
• Experimental techniques include highly controlled experiments and structured observations.
• Quantitative (Numerical) data is collected
• Scientific: Generalisations are made from the data to create universal laws of human behaviour. Data tends to have high reliability, arguably at the expense of validity.
• Approaches include behaviourism, SLT , bio and cog
• examples of nomothetic approach in psych

  • Biological Psychology & drug treatments
  • Learning theorists use of animal studies
• How are biological psychologists and drug treatments nomothetic?

  • Biological psychologists use large-scale and well-controlled drug trials to test the efficacy of novel drug treatments
  • Trials assume it is a general law that neurotransmitter levels influence the symptoms of mental health conditions
  • Reliability of findings has given doctors confidence in prescribing drugs such as SSRIs for OCD and Chlorpromazine for SZ
• How are learning theorists use of animal studies nomothetic?

  • Thousands of studies testing the principles of operant and classical conditioning on animals, including rats, pigeons and dogs, back up Skinner and Pavlov's learning theories
  • These behavioural principles accurately predict animal and human behaviour, leading to applications in therapy and advertisement
  • Controlled and reliable nomothetic techniques has given modern psychology scientific legitimacy
• aims to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws
• The nomothetic approach suggests that psychology should be the study of large and varied groups to make generalisations about what is typical in different aspects of human behaviour i.e. establishing norms.