A Balance Between Nomothetic and Idiographic Approaches Are Needed for a Complete Study of Psychology
“A balance between nomothetic and idiographic approaches is needed for a complete study of psychology”. Discuss this statement. Refer to at least one topic.
Table of Contents Introduction 1 Background 1 Approach 2 Background 2 Scientific approach 4 Conclusion 5
Introduction
Background
The idiographic and nomothetic approaches in psychology are often regarded as representing opposing and conflicting positions about how best to study people, especially intelligence and personality. However, the two may be seen as complementary, with both necessary to gain a fuller understanding of human beings.
The idiographic approach focuses on: ‘the individual and recognises the uniqueness of the person in terms of their experiences, feelings, developmental history, aspirations and motivations in life, and the values and moral codes by which they live’. The word idiograph comes from the Greek word idios, meaning ‘own’ or ‘private’. Hence the idiographic approach in psychology is concerned with the private, subjective and unique aspects of a person and employs methods of inquiry which provide information about subjective experiences. The idiographic approach is characterised by qualitative methods of investigation. Qualitative methods include unstructured interviews, case studies, self report measures, introspection, and the psychoanalytic techniques of free association and dream analysis. The idiographic approaches is holistic and places great value on the individual’s conscious experiences. The humanistic perspective in psychology perhaps best exemplifies the idiographic approach. Freudian psychoanalysis can also be said to adopt an idiographic approach as he did not use any scientific method to test or find evidence for his theoretical claims.
Approach
The nomothetic approach in psychology focuses on: ‘similarities between people and attempts to establish general laws of behaviour and thought that can be applied to large populations of people, or
Table of Contents Introduction 1 Background 1 Approach 2 Background 2 Scientific approach 4 Conclusion 5
Introduction
Background
The idiographic and nomothetic approaches in psychology are often regarded as representing opposing and conflicting positions about how best to study people, especially intelligence and personality. However, the two may be seen as complementary, with both necessary to gain a fuller understanding of human beings.
The idiographic approach focuses on: ‘the individual and recognises the uniqueness of the person in terms of their experiences, feelings, developmental history, aspirations and motivations in life, and the values and moral codes by which they live’. The word idiograph comes from the Greek word idios, meaning ‘own’ or ‘private’. Hence the idiographic approach in psychology is concerned with the private, subjective and unique aspects of a person and employs methods of inquiry which provide information about subjective experiences. The idiographic approach is characterised by qualitative methods of investigation. Qualitative methods include unstructured interviews, case studies, self report measures, introspection, and the psychoanalytic techniques of free association and dream analysis. The idiographic approaches is holistic and places great value on the individual’s conscious experiences. The humanistic perspective in psychology perhaps best exemplifies the idiographic approach. Freudian psychoanalysis can also be said to adopt an idiographic approach as he did not use any scientific method to test or find evidence for his theoretical claims.
Approach
The nomothetic approach in psychology focuses on: ‘similarities between people and attempts to establish general laws of behaviour and thought that can be applied to large populations of people, or