Idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation
Psychologists either study individuals in depth to understand what makes them unique (idiographic), or study large groups to find general laws that apply to everyone (nomothetic).
Real World
Freud's detailed case study of Little Hans (1909) is a classic idiographic investigation, while Milgram's obedience study (1963) used 40 participants to establish a general 65% obedience rate — a nomothetic approach.
Exam Focus
When asked to 'discuss', present both approaches then evaluate which is more appropriate for the specific behaviour in question.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
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