IDIOGRAPHIC AND NOMOTHETIC

APPROACHES

AO1:
Idiographic approach:
 Researches the individual and attempts to describe the nature of the
individual
 People are studied as unique entities, each with their own subjective
experiences, motivations and value
 No attempts to make comparisons between an individual with a large
group, standard or norm
 Associated with qualitative data and research methods – case studies,
unstructured interviews and other self report measures
Nomothetic approach:
 Focuses on developing norms and general laws about human behaviour
 Provides a ‘benchmark’ against which people can be compared, classified
and measured (e.g. the IQ of individuals)
 Can be used on the basis in which likely future behaviour can be
predicted and/or controlled (e.g. 5HTT gene for OCD)
 Uses scientific methodologies within psychology such as experiments.
Quantitative data/numerical data which can be used in statistical analysis
to work out central tendencies of behaviour

 Central aim is to describe the richness of human experience and to gain  Involves a large number of people in order to establish how people are
insight into the persons unique way of viewing the world similar

 e.g. the psychodynamic approach and the Oedipus complex

 Idiographic research methods
are in depth
P A strength of the idiographic
approach to research is that in its
pursuit of in-depth qualitative
data, it provides us with a more
complete account of an individual
than nomothetic methods would
E For example, idiographic
methods such as case studies like E It is hard to deduce a cause and
Clive Wearing provide findings
which may reveal important
insights about the functioning of
memory
E However, nomothetic approaches
may rule out such cases that do
not fit the norm as mere
anomalies leading to the field
missing out on research
opportunities to investigate and
learn from unique cases
L Therefore, idiographic
approaches deserve credit for its
willingness to treat every
individual as a unique and
meaningful entity, which can lead
to valuable conclusions
AO2/AO3:
ー Idiographic research methods
can be narrow and restricted
P One weakness of idiographic
research methods is that while
the data collected from and
individual’s case study may be in E This is because in order to
depth and very informative, it
cannot be generalised to the
general population
effect relationship and there is
rarely a control group present to
compare the results with
E Lastly an issue with case studies is
that the conclusions drawn from
them are often subjective
interpretations of researchers
and therefore open to bias
L Therefore while idiographic
research methods may be in
depth, they may also lack validity
and have to be considered
carefully as evidence
 Nomothetic research methods
tend to be more scientific
P A strength of the nomothetic
approach to research is that it is
considered scientific
develop laws that apply to the
general population, the
nomothetic approach aims to test
variables under standardised
conditions using quantitative
methods, which provide averages
and lend themselves well to
statistical analysis
E This can help us determine a
group norm, for example,
identifying that the average IQ is
100. This knowledge can be
extended to help identify
abnormalities by drawing up cut
off points beyond which
behaviour is considered abnormal
i.e. an IQ below 70 is seen as a
sign of intellectual deficient
disorder – IDD
L This demonstrates that not only
does the nomothetic approach
have scientific credibility but also
can be readily applied to identify
abnormalities
ー Nomothetic approach tends to
‘lose the whole person’
P An issue with the nomothetic
approach is that it does not help
us appreciate the characteristics
and richness of human behaviour
E With its use of general laws and
predictability, the nomothetic
approach does not help us fully
understand the emotion and
feeling associated with
behaviour. For example, knowing
that there is a 1% lifetime risk of
developing schizophrenia gives us
little understanding about what
life is like for someone who is
suffering from the disorder
E This means that in search of
generalisations, the nomothetic
approach may sometimes
overlook the richness of human
experience
L Thus, adopting exclusively
nomothetic practices to research,
may hinder our ability to truly
understand behaviours and how
to help someone that goes
through it

NOTE: Only select the relevant AO1s (e.g. 2/3 points) and four evaluation points (AO2/AO3)