Idiographic and Nomothetic

• define idiographic

  Psychologists who take an idiographic approach focus on the individual, and emphasise the unique personal experience of human nature and does not seek to formulate general laws
• define nomothetic

  Psychologists who take a nomothetic approach are concerned with establishing general laws, based on the study of large groups of people, and the use of statistical (quantitative) techniques to analyse data.
• what type of research methods does an idiographic approach take?

  This means they favour qualitative research methods, such as the case study, unstructured interviews and thematic analysis which allow an in-depth insight into individual behaviour.
• give an example of an idiographic approach in psychology

  • Shallice and Warrington (1970) examined the case of Patient KF, who experienced a motorbike accident. KF’s short-term forgetting of auditory information was greater than his forgetting of visual information, suggesting that short-term memory (STM) consists of multiple components. Consequently, Patient KF undermines the Multi-Store Model of Memory suggesting that STM is not one unitary component. Therefore, an individual case study can highlight flaws within a theory and significantly undermine other research.
• evaluation of idiographic approach

  • The idiographic approach is unable to produce general laws or predictions about human behaviour, and that severely limits its usefulness in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders. Furthermore, many psychologists criticise the idiographic approach for its unscientific nature. The emphasis on in-depth data collection and the difficulties in arriving at justifiable generalisations contradicts the central purpose of any science. Research practices that do not address these goals can seem scientifically pointless.
• evaluation of idiographic approach

  • The case of Patient KF (Shallice and Warrington, 1970) exposed a limitation of the Multi-Store Model of Memory, by providing evidence that our STM comprises of at least two components (auditory and visual memory) and not one, as stipulated by Atkinson and Shiffrin. Consequently, a single case study can generate further research into a particular phenomenon (e.g. memory), which contributes to the development of new theories that further our understanding of human behaviour.
• give examples of a nomothetic approach in psychology

  • Biological Psychologists take a nomothetic approach when explaining psychological disorders, such as OCD and depression. They typically pinpoint biological factors, such as neurotransmitters, that are responsible for such disorders and use biological therapies (e.g. drugs) to treat all patients.
  • Behaviourists, such as Pavlov and Skinner, conducted experiments with animals in order to establish laws of learning (classical and operant conditioning) that could be generalised to humans and non-human animals.
• give examples of a nomothetic approach in psychology

  • Cognitive psychologists, such as Atkinson and Shiffrin, developed general laws, such as the Multi-Store Model of Memory, which they believed could be generalised to everyone.
  • Social psychologists, such as Milgram and Asch, used a nomothetic approach to create general conclusions about human behaviour: that situational factors are responsible for both obedience and conformity.
• evaluation of nomothetic approach

  • Unlike the idiographic approach, the nomothetic approach is considered as generally scientific. The use of experimental (quantitative) methods, controlled measurement and the ability to predict behaviour, are all seen as strengths of the nomothetic approach. Furthermore, controlled methods allow for replication to examine the reliability of findings which has helped psychology establish itself as a scientific discipline. The development of theories and empirical testing are just one of the key features of science that are employed by the nomothetic approach.
• evaluation of nomothetic approach

  • because the nomothetic approach is viewed as scientific, it is useful for predicting and controlling behaviour. For example, biological psychologists take a nomothetic approach when explaining OCD and claim that OCD is caused by higher levels of dopamine and lower levels of serotonin. Drug therapies are developed on the basis of nomothetic research. SSRIs are used to treat OCD and increase the availability and uptake of serotonin, thus reducing the anxiety associated with OCD, which helps to improve the lives of people suffering from this condition.
• evaluation of nomothetic approach

  • However, as drug treatments are not successful for all patients, some psychologists argue that alternate treatments (e.g. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), which are based on an idiographic approach, are more suitable for treating individuals with such conditions, as they seek to understand and explain the disorder from a patient’s point of view.
• evaluation of nomothetic approach

  • some psychologists argue that the nomothetic approach loses sight of the ‘whole person’, due to its fixation on quantitative data. Furthermore, these psychologists also claim that the nomothetic approaches only provides a superficial understanding of human behaviour. For example, Milgram’s research found that 65% of participants obeyed an authority figure and inflicted a 450V. However, the results fail to explain why each person obeyed, and there may have been very different circumstances that led to the obedience found in each participant.
• explain a combined approach

  • Many approaches in psychology take advantage of both approaches and therefore the two approaches can be viewed as complementary. For example, while cognitive psychologists typically take a nomothetic approach and create general laws (e.g. the WMM), they also take advantage of the idiographic approach when using case studies to provide evidence for a particular theory (e.g. Patient KF). Many research studies make use of both approaches, and it could be argued that psychologists should employ both methods depending on the nature of the research question