Summary
Summary Nomothetic approach v Idiographic Approach (Evaluate)
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- Issues and Debates
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- AQA
Nomothetic approach v Idiographic Approach (Evaluate)
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Nomothetic research is when general laws are made based on the study of manyindividuals through which quantitative (numerical) data is produced. Nomothetic
theories of human behaviour are developed using a large number of participants
as this allows the theory and any studies conducted based on that theory to be
generalised. Due to using a large number of participants, the findings and data
produced are quantitative and this allows statistical tests such as Chi? and the
Sign Test to be used along with measures of central tendency/dispersion in
order to draw conclusions. The goal for nomothetic research in psychology is to
be able
to draw conclusions that can be generalised to many, much like the biological
approach which studies many individuals and produces quantitative data that can
be related to other individuals.
One example of nomothetic research is the Behaviourist approach in which
psychologists such as Pavlov and Skinner conducted research on animals to
provide evidence to support the theory. Skinner's study on rats provided
evidence for classical conditioning and Pavlov's study on dogs provided evidence
for operant conditioning, which together created the basis of behaviourism.
The results of these studies were then generalised to humans in an attempt to
explain human behaviour. This is a clear example of nomothetic research as
many animals were part of both the development of this approach and the
studies that evidenced it, which was then applied to humans. However, this is
very clearly an issue as animals and humans are very different in many ways and
therefore the results of this nomothetic research conducted on animals
absolutely
cannot be used to explain human behaviour.
Idiographic research, on the other hand, is when the individual, rather than the
collective, is focused on. It attempts to understand why an individual dos
something, thereby emphasising the uniqueness of each person and producing
qualitative (non-numerical) data. Idiographic research requires an in-depth
approach to gather rich, quality information via unstructured interviews or case
studies from which the qualitative data is converted into quantitative data by
content/thematic analysis. The main goal of nomothetic research is to gain
theory.
The psychodynamic approach is one example of idiographic research in
psychology. To create his explanation, Freud used case studies which were
based on his own patients. He then used their lives and experience to formulate
his views on human behaviour and write his Psychodynamic explanation. An
example of his research can be seen with Little Hans, where a young boy was
used to explain gender development and evidence concepts such as the Oedipus
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