Ideographic vs Nomothetic

• Idiographic approach


  A method of investigating behaviour which focuses on individuals and emphasises their uniqueness
• Nomothetic approach


  Seeks to formulate general laws of behaviour based on the study of groups and the use of statistical, quantitive techniques
• The idiographic approach was used in the form of case studies on HM and KF, and informed further research into the different types of long-term memory
• Idiographic approach


  • Freud's use of case studies and in-depth interviews to collect qualitative data from Little Hans
  • The humanistic approach's holistic and 'phenomenological' approach to research, which focuses on the experience of the individual
• Nomothetic approach


  • Behaviourists' use of laboratory experiments to establish 'cause and effect' relationships
  • Cognitive psychologists' use of objective methods of measuring brain activity
  • Biological approach's use of brain scans to make inferences about localisation of brain function
• Qualitative data produced by the idiographic approach may support existing theories or challenge general laws and lead to development of improved psychological theories
• Theories developed from the idiographic approach may struggle to be generalised beyond the individual, reducing the ecological validity of the findings
• The research methods used in the idiographic approach, such as case studies and unstructured interviews, lack scientific rigour and are open to researcher bias
• The nomothetic approach's use of highly scientific methods produces reliable data through standardised conditions and control of extraneous variables
• The nomothetic approach has led to the establishment of certain 'norms' or standards of behaviour
• The nomothetic approach may undervalue the impact of individual experiences
• Nomothetic and idiographic approaches may be complementary to each other, rather than contradictory
• debate is about

  which approach is the most appropriate when researching the complexities of human behaviour