Nomothetic and Idiographic Approaches

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 term idiographic comes from the Greek word idios, which
means personal or private. The idiographic approach describes the study of
the individual, and generally uses qualitative methods, such as unstructured
interviews, case studies, and thematic analysis. The idiographic approach does not
formulate laws or generalise findings.

The nomothetic approach generally uses quantitative research methods and

statistical analysis. Research methods used in the nomothetic approach include
experiments, correlations, and meta-analyses

EXAMPLE

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 allow comparisons
between people. Eysenck's personality theory is based on three
dimensions: introversion vs extroversion, neuroticism vs stability, and
psychoticism.

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.

EXAMPLE

We can often see humanistic and psychodynamic psychologists' idiographic

approaches in case studies.

Page 1 of 6
The Difference Between the Idiographic and
Nomothetic Approach
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. 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.

For example, the idiographic approach to studying personality assumes that

our mental structures are unique and remarkable and possess different
characteristics and qualities.
The nomothetic approach to personality would identify commonalities of
personality dimensions applicable to the whole population into which people can
be placed.

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.

Idiographic and Nomothetic Approach: Examples

Here are some examples of idiographic and nomothetic approaches to get a
good grip on the topic at hand.

The Biological Approach: Nomothetic

The biological approach is an example of a nomothetic approach in psychology.

DEFINITION

The biological approach examines the biological components of human behaviours

and disorders and suggests there is a biological cause for said behaviours and
disorders.

The theories proposed by the biological approach are often ascribed to everyone
afterwards and can thus be considered nomothetic.

Page 2 of 6
Classical and Operant Conditioning: Nomothetic
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.

Conformity, Obedience, and Situational Factors: Nomothetic

Social psychologists Asch and Milgram argue that situational factors are another
nomothetic approach. When they conducted research 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 and Psychodynamic Approach: Idiographic

Humanistic psychology and the psychodynamic approach are good
examples of idiographic methodology. 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.

The psychodynamic approach also has nomothetic components, as seen in

Freud's discussion on the stages of development everyone goes through.
However, the case studies Freud used show the idiographic aspects of his
theories.

Page 3 of 6
Little Hans: Oedipus Complex

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.

Nomothetic and Idiographic Approaches to

Psychology
Let’s take a look at the study of personality through the lens of the nomothetic
and idiographic approaches. A nomothetic approach would understand
personality in terms of a few basic traits that can be generalised and applied to
everyone.

EXAMPLE

Carl Roger’s Q-Sort (1940) test is an example of the idiographic approach to

personality. The Q technique involves presenting subjects with 100 q-cards
containing self-referential statements.
For example, “I am a good person.” “I am not a trustworthy person.” Subjects
then sorted the cards into several piles on a scale of “most like me” to “least like
me.”
Subjects had control over how many ascending piles they created. As a result,
there is an infinite number of possible personality profiles.

Idiographic and Nomothetic Approach: Evaluation

This section will compare and contrast the idiographic to the nomothetic
approach to show the strengths and weaknesses.

Advantages of a Nomothetic Approach

Page 4 of 6
Using the nomothetic approach, large samples of individuals can be used to
obtain representative results. It also uses a scientific methodology to make
experiments replicable and reliable. Laboratory experiments are controlled and
scientifically robust, usually.

Since this approach is scientific, it can be used to predict behaviour and provide
treatment plans based on biological abnormalities.

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.

Disadvantages of a Nomothetic Approach

However, the nomothetic approach lacks awareness of individual and unique
perspectives because it assumes that universal laws of behaviour apply to
everyone. Likewise, cultural and gender differences may not be considered in
nomothetic methods.

Advantages of an Idiographic Approach

The idiographic approach focuses on individuals and can explain behaviour more
deeply. Humanistic psychologists argue that we can only predict their actions at
a given moment if we know the person. The results are a source of ideas or
hypotheses for the studies.

Case studies can help develop nomothetic laws by providing more information.

Disadvantages of an Idiographic Approach

Idiographic methods lack scientific evidence. Since fewer people are studied, no
general laws or predictions can be made. Because of this, it is often seen as a
narrow and limited approach.

Modern scientific standards often dismiss Freud's theories for methodology issues
and a lack of scientific basis.

Page 5 of 6
Idiographic and Nomothetic Approaches - Key takeaways

• The term 'nomothetic' comes from the Greek word nomos, meaning law.
The nomothetic approach focuses on establishing general laws about
human behaviour, generally using quantitative data. Methods that support
research using a nomothetic approach include experiments, correlations,
and meta-analysis.

• The term 'idiographic' comes from the Greek word idios, meaning
'personal' or 'private'. The idiographic approach focuses on individual
perceptions, emotions, and behaviours and collects qualitative data to
obtain in-depth and unique details about individuals.

• Examples of the nomothetic approach include the biological approach in

psychology, classical and operant conditioning, conformity,
and obedience. The cognitive approach is largely nomothetic with
idiographic aspects to it.

• Examples of the idiographic approach include the Little Hans case study
and the humanistic approach. The psychodynamic approach is partially
idiographic but has nomothetic components.

• The nomothetic approach uses the scientific method and is more

controlled and reliable. However, it ignores individual differences and can
be reductionist. The idiographic approach accounts for individual
differences, providing more complete analysis of human behaviour, but
has issues with methodology and reliability.

Page 6 of 6