Idiographic Nomothetic

• What are the idiographic and nomothetic approaches in psychology?

  • Idiographic: focuses on the individual, uses qualitative methods
  • Nomothetic: seeks general laws, uses quantitative methods
• What does the idiographic approach focus on?

  The idiographic approach focuses on the individual and their subjective experiences.
• What does the nomothetic approach aim to achieve?

  The nomothetic approach aims to establish generalizable principles and universal laws about behavior.
• What is the debate between idiographic and nomothetic approaches concerned with?

  The debate is concerned with the overall aims of psychological research: establishing general laws versus understanding individual experiences.
• How do different psychological approaches relate to the idiographic and nomothetic debate?

  • Psychodynamic: Both (general laws and case studies)
  • Humanistic: Idiographic (focus on unique experiences)
  • Cognitive: Both (general principles and case studies)
  • Behaviourist: Nomothetic (universal laws through controlled experiments)
  • Biological: Nomothetic (general laws based on physiology)
  • SLT: Nomothetic (universal laws of social learning)
• What does the word ‘idios’ mean?

  Idios means personal or private.
• What does the word ‘nomos’ mean?

  Nomos means law.
• Which approach is more likely to adopt the use of qualitative data in psychological research?

  The idiographic approach is more likely to use qualitative data.
• Which approach believes in establishing universal laws that can be applied to whole populations?

  The nomothetic approach believes in establishing universal laws.
• Which approach is more likely to use a lab experiment or correlational analysis?

  The nomothetic approach is more likely to use lab experiments or correlational analysis.
• Which approach is considered highly idiographic?

  The humanistic approach is considered highly idiographic.
• What is the universal law that the behaviourist seeks to apply through their use of nomothetic approaches?

  All behavior is a result of conditioning.
• What are the implications of taking an idiographic approach in psychological research?

  • Provides in-depth understanding of individual cases
  • Highlights unique experiences
  • May lack generalizability
• What are the implications of taking a nomothetic approach in psychological research?

  • Aims for generalizability across populations
  • Facilitates the development of universal laws
  • May overlook individual differences