Issues and debates
Discuss idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological
investigation
AO1
Idiographic approach
- Attempts to describe the nature of an individual
- People are studied as unique entities, each with their own subjective
experiences, motivations and values
- There is no attempt to compare these data set to larger groups
- Favours qualitive data and methods – case studies, unstructured
interviews, etc.
- Example – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – each person is seen as
moving up the hierarchy of needs in a different way in order to
reach self-actualisation.
Nomothetic approach
- Aims to produce general laws that allows people to be classified,
compared and measured and on the basis of which likely future
behaviours can be predicted and controlled
- Uses experiments and quantitative data
- Involves the study of a large number of people in order to establish
ways in which people are similar
- Example – biological approach – explaining depression + OCD
- Example – behaviourist approach – classical conditioning –
generalisation from animal studies
AO3
IDIOGRAPHIC
- Patient KF – motorcycle accident – short term memory for auditory
information was worse than visual suggesting STM consists of
multiple components
- Undermines the idea of a single STM proposed by Atkinson and
Shiffrin in the MSM
- A single case can generate further research into a particular
phenomenon which contributes to the development of new theories
highlighting a strength of the idiographic approach to psychological
investigation
NOMOTHETIC
- Considered scientific – use of quantitative methods, controlled
measurements and the ability to predict behaviour
- Biological approach – claims that OCD is caused by lower levels of
serotonin = drug therapies developed addressing the biological
imbalance
- SSRIs are used to treat OCD and increase the availability and uptake
of serotonin, reducing anxiety and thus improving people’s lives
HOWEVER
- Drug therapies not successful for all patients
, - Other alternatives such as CBT focus on the individual taking an
idiographic approach
- May provide a better understanding of complex psychological
disorders
BOTH
- Idiographic is time consuming and less scientific but it is important
to have a detailed understanding of individuals due to differences
between every individual
- Milton and Davis (1996) – combined approach would be more
effective starting with nomothetic approach, general laws and
theories, and can then be refined using the idiographic approach
- A common practice – addiction treatment is tailored to individual
needs taking into account type of addiction and client circumstance
- Such treatment programmes are more effective demonstrating the
benefits of a combined approach
Discuss the issue of gender bias in psychological research
AO1
- Universality = is the belief that research conclusions can be applied
to everyone, anywhere, regardless of gender
- Alpha bias = when the differences between men and women are
shown and may be exaggerated. Either to heighten the value of
women or devalue them
- Example: Freud’s theory of psychosexual development viewed
femininity as failed masculinity. Believed that the ‘deficiency’ in
women was caused by an absence of a penis and as a result women
are inferior because they are jealous and cannot undergo the same
Oedipus conflict.
- Beta bias = refers to theories which ignore or minimise sex
differences. This often occurs when females do not take part in the
research, but findings are generalised equally to both sexes.
- Example: flight or fight response research has been carried out on
male animals – assumed that the responses are the same for both
genders – however research has found that females release
oxytocin (neurotransmitter) in response to stress which causes
females to seek social contact in dangerous situations. Also means
that women are more likely to protect their offspring and form
defensive alliances with other women
- Androcentrism = theories which are focused on males – a possible
consequence of beta bias
AO3
NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS
- There are gender stereotypes in education = men often seen as
better at maths and sciences and are encouraged, more than girls,
to pursue these subjects
Discuss idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological
investigation
AO1
Idiographic approach
- Attempts to describe the nature of an individual
- People are studied as unique entities, each with their own subjective
experiences, motivations and values
- There is no attempt to compare these data set to larger groups
- Favours qualitive data and methods – case studies, unstructured
interviews, etc.
- Example – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – each person is seen as
moving up the hierarchy of needs in a different way in order to
reach self-actualisation.
Nomothetic approach
- Aims to produce general laws that allows people to be classified,
compared and measured and on the basis of which likely future
behaviours can be predicted and controlled
- Uses experiments and quantitative data
- Involves the study of a large number of people in order to establish
ways in which people are similar
- Example – biological approach – explaining depression + OCD
- Example – behaviourist approach – classical conditioning –
generalisation from animal studies
AO3
IDIOGRAPHIC
- Patient KF – motorcycle accident – short term memory for auditory
information was worse than visual suggesting STM consists of
multiple components
- Undermines the idea of a single STM proposed by Atkinson and
Shiffrin in the MSM
- A single case can generate further research into a particular
phenomenon which contributes to the development of new theories
highlighting a strength of the idiographic approach to psychological
investigation
NOMOTHETIC
- Considered scientific – use of quantitative methods, controlled
measurements and the ability to predict behaviour
- Biological approach – claims that OCD is caused by lower levels of
serotonin = drug therapies developed addressing the biological
imbalance
- SSRIs are used to treat OCD and increase the availability and uptake
of serotonin, reducing anxiety and thus improving people’s lives
HOWEVER
- Drug therapies not successful for all patients
, - Other alternatives such as CBT focus on the individual taking an
idiographic approach
- May provide a better understanding of complex psychological
disorders
BOTH
- Idiographic is time consuming and less scientific but it is important
to have a detailed understanding of individuals due to differences
between every individual
- Milton and Davis (1996) – combined approach would be more
effective starting with nomothetic approach, general laws and
theories, and can then be refined using the idiographic approach
- A common practice – addiction treatment is tailored to individual
needs taking into account type of addiction and client circumstance
- Such treatment programmes are more effective demonstrating the
benefits of a combined approach
Discuss the issue of gender bias in psychological research
AO1
- Universality = is the belief that research conclusions can be applied
to everyone, anywhere, regardless of gender
- Alpha bias = when the differences between men and women are
shown and may be exaggerated. Either to heighten the value of
women or devalue them
- Example: Freud’s theory of psychosexual development viewed
femininity as failed masculinity. Believed that the ‘deficiency’ in
women was caused by an absence of a penis and as a result women
are inferior because they are jealous and cannot undergo the same
Oedipus conflict.
- Beta bias = refers to theories which ignore or minimise sex
differences. This often occurs when females do not take part in the
research, but findings are generalised equally to both sexes.
- Example: flight or fight response research has been carried out on
male animals – assumed that the responses are the same for both
genders – however research has found that females release
oxytocin (neurotransmitter) in response to stress which causes
females to seek social contact in dangerous situations. Also means
that women are more likely to protect their offspring and form
defensive alliances with other women
- Androcentrism = theories which are focused on males – a possible
consequence of beta bias
AO3
NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS
- There are gender stereotypes in education = men often seen as
better at maths and sciences and are encouraged, more than girls,
to pursue these subjects
