Essay
Discuss nomothetic and idiographic approaches to psychological explanations
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- Issues and debates
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A level issues and debates 16 marker full mark essay
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Discuss idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation (16 marks)The idiographic approach is an approach to psychological research that focuses on the
individual case as a means of understanding behaviour, rather that aiming to formulate
general laws of behaviour. Psychologists who take an idiographic approach emphasise the
unique personal experience of human nature. As a result, they utilise qualitative research
methods such as case studies and interviews. The focus on quality of information over
quantity allows the researcher to gain in-depth information.
One example of the idiographic approach used in psychological research is Shallice and
Warrington’s case study on patient KF. Following a motorbike accident, KF’s short-term
forgetting of auditory information was greater than his forgetting of visual information,
suggesting that short term memory consists of multiple components, undermining the
multi-store model of memory. Therefore, an individual case study can highlight flaws within
theories. Another example of an idiographic approach is Freud’s use of case studies, for
example, ‘Little Hans’. Freud conducted a very detailed investigation into Hans’ life, ensuring
to uncover the reasons for his behaviour. Although Freud tried to produce generalisations
from his case studies, they are still viewed as idiographic as they are drawn from unique
individuals.
A limitation of using the idiographic approach is its inability to produce general laws or
predictions about human behaviour. Such predictions can be useful for gaining knowledge
about the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders. It would be too time
consuming to produce personal therapies for unique individuals, therefore, we need to
make predictions about the most likely therapeutic solutions. Furthermore, many
psychologists criticise the idiographic approach for its unscientific nature. The emphasis on
in-depth data and its inability to arrive at generalisable conclusions makes this approach
scientifically pointless. However, idiographic researchers respond to these criticisms by
emphasising the evidence-based nature of their conclusions, as well as the critical
awareness embedded in their research techniques like reflexivity, claiming that the validity
of their findings is higher than if they were to use statistical methods. As said by Allport, it is
only through the understanding of single individuals that psychologists can hope to predict
how such individuals will behave in a given situation.
The nomothetic approach involves the study of a large number of people and then seeks to
make generalisations or develop theories about their behaviour. Nomothetic psychologists
use quantitative research such as statistical analysis or measures of central tendency and
dispersion to analyse data. One example of the nomothetic approach used in psychology is
within the biological approach. Biological psychologists take a nomothetic approach when
explaining psychological disorders, such as OCD and depression by pinpointing biological
factors, such as neurotransmitters, that are responsible for such disorders and developing
drugs to treat them. Furthermore, Pavlov and Skinner conducted experiments on animals to
establish laws of learning that could be generalised to both humans and non-humans.
Unlike the idiographic approach, the nomothetic approach is considered to be scientific. The
use of quantitative methods, controlled measurement, and the ability to predict behaviour
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