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The debate about idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychology is a philosophical debate about studying people. In psychology, we can study humans using an idiographic or nomothetic approach, both of which have advantages and disadvantages. We will consider each of the approaches in turn.
The term ‘nomothetic’ comes from the Greek word nomos, meaning law. The nomothetic approach describes the study of people as a total population. Psychologists using this approach study large groups of people and make general laws about behaviour that apply to all. The nomothetic approach generally uses quantitative research methods and statistical analysis. Research methods used in the nomothetic approach include experiments, correlations, and meta-analyses.
We can divide the general laws identified into several types:
The classification of people into groups (e.g., the DSM for mood disorders).
Principles such as the behavioural laws of learning.
Dimensions such as Eysenck's personality inventory, which allows comparisons between people. Eysenck's personality theory is based on three dimensions: introversion vs extroversion, neuroticism vs stability, and psychoticism vs socialisation.
Next, we will examine the idiographic approach and how it differs from a nomothetic approach.
The term 'idiographic' comes from the Greek word idios, which means 'personal' or 'private'. Psychologists who take an idiographic approach focus on a person's individual and unique aspects. The idiographic approach generally uses qualitative methods such as unstructured interviews, case studies, and thematic analysis. The idiographic approach does not formulate laws or generalise findings.
The idiographic approach focuses on individual perceptions and feelings and collects qualitative data to obtain in-depth and unique details about individuals instead of numerical data. We can often see humanistic and psychodynamic psychologists' idiographic approaches in case studies.
The idiographic approach emphasises the uniqueness of the individual through their emotions, behaviour, and experiences. It aims to gather in-depth information about a person. The idiographic approach to studying personality assumes that our mental structures are unique and remarkable and possess different characteristics and qualities. On the other hand, the nomothetic approach aims to find the commonalities among people and tries to generalise behaviour through laws that apply to all people.
Although the two methods take opposing approaches, some argue that working with both methods supports psychologists' broader perspectives on their study cases.
Cognitive psychology approaches combine both methods. They use a nomothetic approach to establish general laws of cognitive process and apply an idiographic approach to work on case studies.
Here are some examples of idiographic and nomothetic approaches to get a good grip on the topic at hand.
Operant conditioning of behaviour is an excellent example of a nomothetic approach. When Pavlov and Skinner conducted their research with rats, dogs, and pigeons to test learning behaviours, they developed general laws of learning classical and operant conditioning. Watson also generalised these laws and applied them to humans. They are still used in behavioural therapies for phobias, systematic desensitisation, and other problems.
Social psychologists Asch and Milgram argue that situational factors are another nomothetic approach. When they researched to understand the situational factors involved in social behaviour, they concluded that situational factors could influence the degree of conformity and obedience to anyone because they apply a general law.
Humanistic psychology and the psychodynamic approach are good examples of idiographic methodology.
Freud's (1909) case study of Little Hans is an example of an idiographic approach. Freud conducted meticulous research on his patients' cases to understand their psychological problems better. The case study of Little Hans is about a five-year-old boy who was afraid of horses. Freud collected detailed data that spanned over one hundred and fifty pages and months of work. He concluded that Little Hans behaved this way out of jealousy of his father because Freud believed that Little Hans was going through the Oedipus complex.
Humanistic psychology applies a person-centred approach. Therefore, it is considered idiographic because it promotes a focus exclusively on subjective experience. It is usually used in a clinical setting because it focuses on the individual.
This section will compare and contrast the idiographic to nomothetic approach to show the strengths and weaknesses.
Large samples of individuals can be used to obtain representative results.
It uses a scientific methodology, and experiments can be replicable and reliable.
Since this approach is scientific, it can be used to predict behaviour. For example, one of the explanations for OCD is low serotonin levels in the brain. Therefore, drugs are being developed to improve serotonin uptake and treat OCD.
It lacks awareness of individual and unique perspectives because it assumes that universal laws of behaviour apply to everyone.
Cultural and gender differences may not be considered in nomothetic methods.
Most experiments are conducted in a laboratory. The results may lack realism, and these studies may not apply to real-world circumstances.
Therefore, the idiographic approach focuses on individuals and can provide a more in-depth explanation of behaviour.
Humanistic psychologists argue that we can only predict their actions at a given moment if we know a person. The results are a source of ideas or hypotheses for the studies.
Case studies can help develop nomothetic laws by providing more information. For example, the case of HM has dramatically helped our understanding of memory.
Idiographic methods lack scientific evidence.
Since fewer people are studied, no general laws or predictions can be made.
A narrow and limited approach.
The idiographic emphasises the individual’s uniqueness through their emotions and experiences. An idiographic approach to studying personality proposes that our mental structures are unique and remarkable, possessing different attributes and qualities. They find it challenging to establish laws generalising these complex and unique systems like nomothetic methodologies would. The nomothetic methodology meditates the numerical and measurable side to draw all-inclusive conclusions.
The idiographic and nomothetic approaches have specific focuses. The idiographic emphasises an individual’s uniqueness through their emotions and experiences, while the nomothetic approach considers the numerical and measurable aspects to get conclusions.
The nomothetic approach describes the study of people as a whole population. Psychologists taking this approach study large groups of people and establish general laws concerning behaviour that applies to everyone.
The humanistic approach is an idiographic approach, as it promotes a person-centred approach.
The nomothetic approach describes the study of people as a whole population. It aims to establish general laws about human behaviour. The idiographic approach focuses on the individual and unique aspects of a person. It aims to collect in-depth and unique details on individuals.
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