What is the difference between the nomothetic and idiographic approach to traits?

1. Psychology
2. Lancaster University
3. Personality
4. Question #2279825

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5 months ago

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Personality refers to the unique characteristics of a person that make them different from another individual. Two approaches are used to study personality mainly idiographic and nomothetic approaches which are discussed below-

1. The nomothetic approach to personality focuses on the similarities in attributes that people share, whereas, the idiographic approach to personality focuses on the unique characteristics of human beings.
2. The nomothetic approach makes use of the scientific method to collect data through experiments and observational studies. Whereas, the idiographic approach collects detailed information about the person by using case studies, self-reports, and personal documents as methods of data collection.
3. The nomothetic approach focuses on the traits that are observed in all individuals and include the work of Hans Eysenck and Raymond Cattell, however, the idiographic approach emphasizes the unique dispositions of people and include the work of Gordon Allport.
4. The nomothetic approach uses standardized measures to examine a large group of people that allow replication and generalization. Whereas, the idiographic approach focuses on the individual and believes that it is only after knowing the person that one can anticipate how they will act in a given situation.

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The debate about idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychology is a philosophical debate about studying people. In psychology, we can study humans using several approaches, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s consider the idiographic and nomothetic approaches in more depth below.

• First, we will establish the meaning of the terms idiographic and nomothetic.
• Next, we will establish the difference between the idiographic and nomothetic approaches.
• We will look at a few examples of the idiographic and nomothetic approaches.
• We will then look at personality through the lens of each the nomothetic and idiographic approaches.
• Finally, we will list the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

Idiographic and Nomothetic Approach: Meaning

Before we dive into examples of these two approaches, let’s first look at the meaning of each term.

The term ‘nomothetic’ comes from the Greek word nomos, meaning law.

The nomothetic approach describes the study of people as a total population. Psychologists using this approach study large groups of people and make general laws about behaviour that apply to all. The nomothetic approach generally uses quantitative research methods and statistical analysis. Research methods used in the nomothetic approach include experiments, correlations, and meta-analyses.

We can divide the general laws identified into several types:

• The classification of people into groups (e.g., the DSM for mood disorders).

• Principles such as the behavioural laws of learning.

• Dimensions such as Eysenck's personality inventory, which allows comparisons between people. Eysenck's personality theory is based on three dimensions: introversion vs extroversion, neuroticism vs stability, and psychoticism vs socialisation.

Next, we will examine the idiographic approach and how it differs from a nomothetic approach.

The idiographic Approach

The term 'idiographic' comes from the Greek word idios, which means 'personal' or 'private'.

Psychologists who take an idiographic approach focus on a person's individual and unique aspects. The idiographic approach generally uses qualitative methods such as unstructured interviews, case studies, and thematic analysis. The idiographic approach does not formulate laws or generalise findings.

The idiographic approach focuses on individual perceptions and feelings and collects qualitative data to obtain in-depth and unique details about individuals instead of numerical data. We can often see humanistic and psychodynamic psychologists' idiographic approaches in case studies.

Difference Between the Idiographic and Nomothetic Approach

The idiographic approach emphasises the uniqueness of the individual through their emotions, behaviour, and experiences. It aims to gather in-depth information about a person. The idiographic approach to studying personality assumes that our mental structures are unique and remarkable and possess different characteristics and qualities. On the other hand, the nomothetic approach aims to find the commonalities among people and tries to generalise behaviour through laws that apply to all people.

Although the two methods take opposing approaches, some argue that working with both methods supports psychologists' broader perspectives on their study cases.

Cognitive psychology approaches combine both methods. They use a nomothetic approach to establish general laws of cognitive process and apply an idiographic approach to work on case studies.

Idiographic and Nomothetic Approach: Examples

Here are some examples of idiographic and nomothetic approaches to get a good grip on the topic at hand.

Classical and Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning of behaviour is an excellent example of a nomothetic approach. When Pavlov and Skinner conducted their research with rats, dogs, and pigeons to test learning behaviours, they developed general laws of learning classical and operant conditioning. Watson also generalised these laws and applied them to humans. They are still used in behavioural therapies for phobias, systematic desensitisation, and other problems.

Conformity and Obedience: Situational Factors

Social psychologists Asch and Milgram argue that situational factors are another nomothetic approach. When they researched to understand the situational factors involved in social behaviour, they concluded that situational factors could influence the degree of conformity and obedience to anyone because they apply a general law.

Examples of the Idiographic Approach

Humanistic psychology and the psychodynamic approach are good examples of idiographic methodology.

Little Hans – Oedipus Complex

Freud's (1909) case study of Little Hans is an example of an idiographic approach. Freud conducted meticulous research on his patients' cases to understand their psychological problems better. The case study of Little Hans is about a five-year-old boy who was afraid of horses. Freud collected detailed data that spanned over one hundred and fifty pages and months of work. He concluded that Little Hans behaved this way out of jealousy of his father because Freud believed that Little Hans was going through the Oedipus complex.

Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic psychology applies a person-centred approach. Therefore, it is considered idiographic because it promotes a focus exclusively on subjective experience. It is usually used in a clinical setting because it focuses on the individual.

Nomothetic and Idiographic Approaches to Psychology

Let’s take a look at the study of personality through the lens of the nomothetic and idiographic approaches.

A nomothetic approach would understand personality in terms of a few basic traits that can be generalized and apply to everyone.

Hans Eysenck (1947, 1966) is an example of the nomothetic approach to personality. His Theory of Three Factors identifies three basic personality traits: extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. Personality is understood according to where an individual falls along a spectrum of opposites of these three factors. (Extroversion vs Introversion, Neuroticism vs Emotional Stability, and Psychoticism vs Self-Control.) In this model, personality can be measured along these three axis through standardized testing.

An idiographic approach understands personality through the lens of every individual’s unique experiences and history. As you can imagine, this creates an endless number of possible personality traits. As such, it is impossible to measure these qualities through standardized testing.

Carl Roger’s Q-Sort (1940) test is an example of the idiographic approach to personality. The Q technique involves presenting subjects with 100 q-cards containing self-referential statements. For example, “I am a good person.” “I am not a trustworthy person.” Subjects then sorted the cards into several piles on a scale of “most like me” to “least like me.” Subjects had control over how many ascending piles they created. As a result, there is an infinite number of possible personality profiles.

Idiographic and Nomothetic Approach: Evaluation

This section will compare and contrast the idiographic to nomothetic approach to show the strengths and weaknesses.

Advantages of a Nomothetic Approach

Using the nomothetic approach, large samples of individuals can be used to obtain representative results. It also uses a scientific methodology, so experiments can be replicable and reliable.

Since this approach is scientific, it can be used to predict behaviour. For example, one of the explanations for OCD is low serotonin levels in the brain. Therefore, drugs are being developed to improve serotonin uptake and treat OCD.

Disadvantages of a Nomothetic Approach

However, the nomothetic approach lacks awareness of individual and unique perspectives because it assumes that universal laws of behaviour apply to everyone. Likewise, cultural and gender differences may not be considered in nomothetic methods.

Most experiments are conducted in a laboratory. Therefore, results may lack realism, and these studies may not apply to real-world circumstances.

Advantages of an Idiographic Approach

The idiographic approach focuses on individuals and can provide a more in-depth explanation of behaviour. Humanistic psychologists argue that we can only predict their actions at a given moment if we know a person. The results are a source of ideas or hypotheses for the studies.

Case studies can help develop nomothetic laws by providing more information. For example, the case of HM has dramatically helped our understanding of memory.

Disadvantages of an Idiographic Approach

However, idiographic methods lack scientific evidence. Since fewer people are studied, no general laws or predictions can be made. Because of this, it is often seen as a narrow and limited approach.

Idiographic and Nomothetic Approaches - Key takeaways

• The term 'nomothetic' comes from the Greek word nomos, meaning law. The nomothetic approach focuses on establishing general laws about human behaviour, generally using quantitative data. Methods that support research using a nomothetic approach include experiments, correlations, and meta-analysis.
• The term 'idiographic' comes from the Greek word idios, meaning 'personal' or 'private'. The idiographic approach focuses on individual perceptions, emotions, and behaviours and collects qualitative data to obtain in-depth and unique details about individuals.
• Examples of the nomothetic approach include classical and operant conditioning, conformity, and obedience.
• Examples of the idiographic approach include the Little Hans case study and the humanistic approach.
• Each approach offers several advantages and disadvantages.

References

1. Fig. 1 - Photo by Emiliano Vittoriosi on Unsplash
2. Fig. 2 - Photo by Melanie Dretvic on Unsplash

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