1. Learning Objective: to understand the idiographic vs nomothetic debate
ALL will know what is meant by an ‘idiographic’ and ‘nomothetic’ approach
MOST will be able to say which approaches are idiographic and which are nomothetic
SOME will consider the implications of a nomothetic and idiographic approach for psychology as a science
What is your current understanding of the terms ‘idiographic’ and ‘nomothetic’

2. Starter
In pairs sort the words into whether you think they are descriptive of a nomothetic or idiographic approach
The definitions are below, this is all you will have to help you with this task
IDIOGRAPHIC APPROACH: an approach or method in Psychology concerned with understanding behaviour through studying individual cases
NOMOTHETIC APPROACH: an approach or method in Psychology concerned with developing general laws of behaviour that apply to all people

3. Starter: feedback – how did you do?
IDIOGRAPHIC
NOMOTHETIC
Uniqueness
Individuality
Subjective experience
Feelings
Qualitative methods
Case study
Introspection
Reflection
Subjective
Dream Analysis
Diaries and letters
Laws
Generalisation
Classification
General Principles
Quantitative
Scientific
Theory
Experiments
Statistical analysis
Prediction
Scales e.g. IQ
DSM-IVR
Make a note of these key features of each approach in your notes!

4. Introduction
‘Nomothetic and idiographic approaches are both needed for a complete study of psychology.’
Discuss this statement with reference to at least one topic area in psychology. (12 marks)
Most psychologists would agree with the quote – why do you think this is? What makes this debate different to the others we have studied?

5. Main Activity
On the next slide is a series of comprehension questions which will enable you to make notes on the key points from the idiographic and nomothetic approaches
This involves you making a judgement on where each of the approaches ‘sits’ on this debate (extension 1)
As well as applying your knowledge to the study of psychology as a Science (extension 2)
The information today will enable you to construct 4 strong A01 points to answer the essay question we looked at previously

6. Comprehension Questions: Idiographic and Nomothetic Approaches
Describe the ‘key feature’ for each one of the approaches in a sentence.
What methodology does the idiographic approach use? Give an example.
What methodology does the nomothetic approach use?
The nomothetic approach emphasises general laws of behaviour which can be applied to large populations. According to Radford and Kirby (1975) what are the 3 kinds of general law? Describe each one briefly.
Describe in brief the aim, method, results and conclusion of the study by Schuckit (1985)
What problems does this example of a nomothetic method face, what advantages does it have?
Why could nomothetic and idiographic approaches be considered as complementary to one another? (examiners tip page 277)
Ext1: Where does each approach lie on the nomothetic / idiographic approach debate? Why?
Ext2: How do the features of each approach (nomothetic and idiographic) relate to the study of Psychology as a Science?

7. Learning Objective: to understand the idiographic vs nomothetic debate
ALL will know what is meant by an ‘idiographic’ and ‘nomothetic’ approach
MOST will be able to say which approaches are idiographic and which are nomothetic
SOME will consider the implications of a nomothetic and idiographic approach for psychology as a science
Plenary Dots!