Idiographic and nomothetic approaches

• Idiographic 


  Focuses more on individual as a means of understanding behaviour rather than aiming to formulate general laws of behaviour
• Nomothetic approach


  Aims to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws
• Idiographic approach to psychological investigation


  Number of participants in idiographic research is small, often single case - some research might include information from family, friends or others but focus is on detail - initial focus about understanding the individual
• Qualititive research 


  Most idiogrpahic research is qualititive - eg research on depression would be based on first hand accounts (case study)

  Participants interviewd in depth and focus may be on particular facet of human behaviour - unstructured interview

  Data analysed and emergent themes are identified

  Conclusions help others going through same experiences or help mental health proffesionals
• Idiographic approach most associated with humanistic and psychodynamic approaches eg Rogers attempt to explain process of self development - derived by in depth conversations with clients in therapy
• Nomothetic approach to psychological investigation

  Aim is generalisation in order to create laws (general principles of behaviour) when could then be applied in individual situations such as drug therapy

  Quantative research - most closely fits traditional models of scientific method in psychology. Hypothesis are formulated, samples of people are assesed in some way and numerical data produced is analysed for it's statistical significance - nomothetic approaches seek to quantify human behaviour
• examples of nomothetic are behaviourist and biological approaches even though they sometimes use small samples eg Skinner studied animals to develop general laws of learning
• Nomothetic- objective - laws of behaviour only possible if methods of assesment are delivered in standardised and objective way - ensures true replication occurs across samples of behaviour and removes contaminating influence of bias
• Idiographic - subjective - individual experience and unique context
• S of idiographic


  Contributes to the nomothetic approach by shedding further lgiht on general laws or indeed by challenging such laws eg single case may generate hypothesis for further study - pebble that starts an avalanche.

  --> even though focus is on individuals the idiographic approach may still help form scientific laws of behaviour

  CP: methods less scientific and more examples needed to make generalisations
• S both approach - scientific credibility


  They fit with the aims of science

  Processes involved in nomothetic research similar to those used in natural sciences eg establishing objectivity through standardisation, control and stat testing

  Idiographic approach also seek to obectify their methods eg triangulation used wherby findings from range of studies using different qualitive methods compared as way of increasing their validity.

  Suggests both nomothetic and idiographic approaches raise psychs status as a science
• W of nomothetic - losing person

  Loss of understanding of the individual - preoccupied with general laws, prediction and control

  eg knowing there is a 1% lifetime rish of developing schizophrenia but doesn't tell us what life is like for them so can't help with developing research etc

  --> may fail to relate to experience