Idiographic & Nomothetic Approaches
Psychology: AQA A Level, topic 8.1.14
Nomothetic Approaches
Nomothetic is an approach that focuses on the whole population.
Nomothetic research
- Nomothetic research tries to find universal laws that can be applied to whole populations of people.
- Mostly, the research entails quantitative research in the form of laboratory studies and correlational research. Statistical data is powerful because it is generally reliable and valid.
- From these studies, general laws and theories of human behaviour can be made.
Strengths of nomothetic research
- Nomothetic research has strengths, depending on the needs of the research.
- As nomothetic research is quantitative, it is a highly scientific approach.
- The studies can be highly controlled, avoid extraneous variables and bias.
- Objective data can be obtained rather than subjective data.
Weaknesses of nomothetic research
- Studies that use scientific research, such as laboratory studies, also tend to have low ecological validity.
- This means it is rare that the results can validly be applied to real life.
- By examining the whole population, some details are going to be missed or ignored.
- Behaviour that does not fit into the norm of the general laws created is sometimes not explained.
Idiographic Approaches
Idiographic approaches focus on the individual.
Idiographic research
- Idiographic research focuses on individuals.
- (Remember ‘I’ for individual).
- It looks at the individual in detail.
- This research relies on qualitative methods such as questionnaires, case studies, interviews and observations of individuals.
Strengths of idiographic research
- Idiographic research can be useful in different cases.
- By focusing on the individual, a more complete explanation is likely compared to the nomothetic approach.
Weaknesses of idiographic research
- By focusing on individuals, such as in case studies, it is difficult to generalise findings to a whole population.
- Idiographic research is usually qualitative, so it can be more subjective. For this reason, it can be seen as less scientific than nomothetic research.
Exceptions
- There are some exceptions.
- Certain case studies have been foundational in developing nomothetic laws and theories.
- A famous example of idiographic research that generated nomothetic ideas is the case study of H.M. (Milner et al, 1957).
(Milner et al. 1957)
- H.M was a man who suffered from severe epilepsy.
- The doctors treated him by removing the area of the brain responsible for the seizures - in this case, the hippocampus.
- After the surgery, he had difficulty forming new long-term memories.
(Milner et al. 1957) conclusions
- They concluded that the hippocampus is important in the formation of long-term memories.
- This concept could be applied to everyone. So an idiographic conclusion had nomothetic applications.
Psychological Approaches - Idiographic-Nomothetic Approaches
There are five general approaches to psychology: psychodynamic, biological, cognitive, behaviourist and humanistic. These approaches fall along the idiographic-nomothetic approaches.
The psychodynamic approach
- The psychodynamic approach has both idiographic and nomothetic tendencies.
- The approach is idiographic because Freud studied behaviour in individuals (such as Little Hans) in case studies.
- These case studies were then used to develop broader, nomothetic laws.
- Freud’s theory of psychosexual development was based on these studies, but Freud believed they could apply to everyone.
The biological approach
- The biological approach is nomothetic.
- Its aim is to develop theories regarding biological function, structures and processes in everyone.
- The approach assumes that human physiology is basically the same across a whole population, making it nomothetic.
Biological examples
- For example, by discovering the localisation of brain structure, we can assume that the vast majority of people have the same brain structure.
- Another example would be neuron structure being consistently the same across humanity.
The cognitive approach
- The cognitive approach is also nomothetic.
- Cognitive research looks at the mental processes of humans.
- It assumes that the processes are largely the same across the population.
- For example, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development can broadly be applied across all humans. We all, basically, go through the same stages of development.
The behaviourist approach
- The behaviourist approach is also nomothetic
- Behaviourists look for cause and effect laws. These laws can be applied across a population.
- For example, Skinner’s operant conditioning principles of learning through positive and negative reinforcement can be generalised to an entire population.
The humanistic approach
- Finally, the humanistic approach is really the only one that falls completely on the idiographic side.
- Humanism focuses on the individual as they strive towards self-actualisation.
- Most studies involve qualitative research.
Test yourself on Idiographic & Nomothetic Approaches
What is nomothetic research?
Which of these is NOT an example of an idiographic research method?
Which of these examples CANNOT be applied to all humans?