Idiographic and nomothetic approaches

• What is the idiographic approach?

  Investigating individuals in person, in-depth detail to achieve a unique understanding of them
• Idiographic approach


  Investigating individuals in person, in-depth detail to achieve a unique understanding of them
• What is the nomothetic approach?

  Investigating large groups of people in order to find general laws of behaviour that apply to everyone
• Nomothetic approach


  Investigating large groups of people in order to find general laws of behaviour that apply to everyone
• What are examples of idiographic approaches?

  Humanistic

  Psychodynamic
• What are examples of nomothetic approaches?

  Behaviourist

  Social learning theory

  Cognitive

  Biological
• What methods is the idiographic approach associated with?

  Case studies, unstructured interviews, etc.
• What data is the idiographic approach associated with?

  Qualitative
• Which approach is most associated with qualitative data?

  Idiographic
• What are people studied as in idiographic approaches?

  Unique entities with subjective experiences
• What is the main aim of the nomothetic approach?

  Produce general laws of human behaviour
• Which approach is most associated with quantitative data?

  Nomothetic
• What data is the nomothetic approach associated with?

  Quantitative
• What methods is the nomothetic approach associated with?

  'Scientific' - experiments
• What were the three general laws of the nomothetic approach according to Radford and Kirby?


  Classification

  Establishing principles

  Establishing dimensions
• Who devised the three general laws of the nomothetic approach?

  Radford and Kirby
• What is classification?

  People can be placed into groups based on behaviours, characteristics, etc.
• Classification


  People can be placed into groups based on behaviours, characteristics, etc.
• What is establishing principles?

  Laws and principles that can be applied to human behaviour
• Establishing principles


  Laws and principles that can be applied to human behaviour
• What is establishing dimensions?

  An attempt to place people on a continuum
• Establishing dimensions


  An attempt to place people on a continuum