issues and debates

• 4 individual case studies
• Idiographic and nomothetic approaches
• There's always one isn't there-byg
• Each side has to come up with: 40 example of their approach fro an ares of psychological research, an outline of their chosen example and in what way it is idiographic comothetic, two strengths of their camp, one limitatise of their
• Idiographic approach


  Detailed study of one individual or group to gain in-depth understanding
• Nomothetic approach


  Study of larger groups with the aim of discovering norms, universal principles or "laws"
• The two approaches may both hirve a place what study of the person
• Objective versus subjective. The number of participants is small, ohen a sing group Research might include others eg family
• The initial focus is about understanding the ind finding generalisations may be made based on
• Qualitative research


  • Individual with depression interviewed, emergent themes identified and condusions formed
• Quantitative research


  • Hypotheses are formulated, samples of people (or animals) are gathered and data analysed for statistical significance
• Idiographic approach


  • Uses in-depth qualitative methods which complements the nomothetic approach by providing detail
  • Tends not to believe that objectivity is possible in psychological research, people's individual experience of their unique context is important
• Nomothetic approach


  • Seeks objectivity through standardisation, control and statistical testing
  • Focuses on general laws and may lose the whole person within psychology
• Both idiographic and nomothetic approaches raise psychology's status as a science
• The idiographic-nomothetic debate is closely linked to choice of methodology (much less theory)
• The idiographic and nomothetic approaches are not either/or, we can consider the same topic from both perspectives