This document is a one page summary of the idiographic vs nomothetic debate within issues and debates of psychology. It describes the main explanations found, with the main evaluation points. These singular pages are perfect for exam season and to boost your knowledge.
An
idiographic approach is where
Psychologists focus on the individual Anomotheticapproachiswheresuchdogisthere
and emphasise the unique personal studies of
large amounts of people.
experience human nature.
of
investigation:
Methods of
Humanism is the only approach within
experiments
·
psychology that is idiographic as it
focuses
individual experience and ·
correlational research IQ
-
on the how it affects /
them.
·
psychometric testing (personality)
Methods investigation:
of Biological Approach
we learn is
what Biological psychologists look to biological factors to
·
case studies normal by studying the explain a process and make it
a general law for all
·
unstructured interviews abnormal. neurotypical people.
·
thematic analysis
The BehaviouristApproach
These methods provide an in-deptinsightinto Pavlov and Skinner conducted experiments with
individual behaviour - it does not seek to make animals in order to establish general laws of
IAWS. learning that could be
generalised.
Shallice and Warrington The Cognitive Approach
K- had trouble remembering auditory information Cognitive psychologists developed general laws such
from his short-term memory could remember
but as the Multistore Model ofMemory, which they
visual memory. This undermines the Multistore model believed can be generalised to everyone.
of
memory was not
but used to create a law.
~ The research methods used
·
frequently in
~ approaches focus on the individual
.
Idiographic homothetic approaches means that
they can be
scientifically
-
so can provide a more complete explanation than tested asthey use standardised
nomothetic approaches. procedures and controlled variables.
~ Detailed studies Research methods such as lab
x
case can be used to help to experiments are
develop homothetic laws by providing extra far removed from normal situations so often lack
information. Theories of memory came from
-
ecological validity, meaning nomothetic
that
studies like HM. generalisable (which is
-
experiments, as well as case approaches are
very rarely
everyone).
-
their purpose -
are true of
to create laws that
X fewer people are studied as methods such
as case studies which makes it difficultto By creating general
x
laws, nomothetic approaches
generalise findings to a larger population. ignore the individual differences that occur in the
population. Therefore, itis less useful in explaining
x
Idiographic approaches are seen as less behaviour that fit in with the
doesnt norms of
scientific than the homothetic approach which the general laws.
could mean that
findings may be more easily
discarded.
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