Idiographic & Nomothetic Approaches (AQA A Level Psychology)

Using an example of a research study you have learned about in psychology, outline what is meant by a nomothetic approach to psychological investigation.

Referring to the example used in your answer above, briefly explain how the same behaviour might be studied using an idiographic approach to psychological investigation.

A prison psychologist used an idiographic approach to study offending. He asked two offenders to record their thoughts about their childhood and their offending behaviour in a journal over a period of four weeks.

Qualitative analysis of the journals showed that the offenders often thought about sad childhood events and believed that their childhood experiences had influenced their offending.

Findings from idiographic research like the study described above are often used as a basis for other investigations.

Explain how the researcher might develop the above investigation through taking a nomothetic approach.