Approaches to psychological investigation

Question 1

What is idiographic?

Answer 1

• Focuses on the uniqueness of the individual.
• It looks at in-depth details and subjective experiences.
• Use qualitative methods, e.g. case studies.

Question 2

Give examples of idiographic approaches.

Answer 2

• Humanistic - investigates unique experience.
• Psychodynamic - used cast studies but Freud also assumed that he had identified universal laws of behaviour (nomothetic).

Question 3

What is nomothetic?

Answer 3

• Aims to establish general laws of human behaviour.
• Focuses on similarities between people an gaining objective knowledge.
• Closely aligned with experiments that collect large amounts of data through the study of large groups.

Question 4

Give examples of nomothetic approaches.

Answer 4

• Behaviourist - Skinner used hundreds of cats, rats and pigeons to develop laws of learning.
• Cognitive
• Biological

Question 5

Give a positive of an idiographic approach.

Answer 5

• With its in-depth qualitative methods of investigation it provides a complete account of the individual.
• May compliment nomothetic approach be shedding light on general laws.
• Case studies may be used to generate hypotheses for future research.
• EG HM contributed to our overall understanding.

Question 6

Give a negative of an idiographic approach.

Answer 6

• Must recognise the narrow and restrictive nature of work.
• EG Freud developed the oedipus complex from Little Hans - meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further examples.
• Also methods associated with the idiographic approach tend to be less scientific so conclusions draw are open to bias and subjective judgment.

Question 7

Give a positive of a nomothetic approach.

Answer 7

• Process is more scientific - tested using standardised conditions, statistical analysis, prediction and control.
• Enabled psychologists to establish norms of ‘typical behaviour’ so arguably giving the discipline of psychology greater scientific credibility.

Question 8

Give a negative of a nomothetic approach.

Answer 8

• ‘Losing whole person’

- Knowing that 1% of the world suffer from schizophrenia doesn’t tell us much about what life is like for the sufferer.