Abstract
Behaviour and the individual person are important but widely neglected topics of personality psychology. We argue that new technologies to collect and new methods to analyse Big (Behavioural) Data have the potential to bring back both more behaviour and the individual person into personality science. The call for studying the individual person in the history of personality science, the related idiographic/nomothetic divide, as well as attempts to reconcile these two approaches are briefly reviewed. Furthermore, different meanings of the term idiographic and some unique selling points that emphasize the importance of idiographic research are highlighted. A nonexhaustive literature review shows that a wealth of behaviours are considered in extant personality studies using such Big Data but only in a nomothetic way. Against this background, we demonstrate the potential of Big Data collection and analysis with regard to four idiographic research topics: (i) unique manifestations of common traits and the resurgence of personal dispositions, (ii) idiographic prediction, (iii) intraindividual consistency versus variability of behaviour and (iv) intraindividual personality trait change through intervention. Methodological, ethical and legal pitfalls of doing Big Data research with individual persons as well as potential countermeasures are considered.
Highlights
During the last two decades, it was criticized that ‘real’ behaviour was only scarcely considered in studies of personality, individual differences and social-psychological phenomena (Baumeister, Vohs, & Funder, 2007; Funder, 2001; Furr, 2009)
We argue that the scientific value of Big (Behavioural) Data lies in the possibility to bring back the individual person into personality psychology and to foster the integration of idiographic and nomothetic approaches in personality science (e.g. Baumert et al, 2017)
On the basis of the fact that both behaviour and the individual person are important but relatively rare topics in personality studies, we have demonstrated that new technologies to collect and new methods to analyse Big (Behavioural) Data have the potential to bring back both more behaviour and the individual person into personality science
Summary
The definition introduced by DeMauro et al (2015) highlights the fact that Big Data itself are worthless unless they are transformed into value by technology and analytical methods. These ABCDEs may be longitudinally assessed with new technologies like ESM, mobile sensing, google glass and the Internet at the level of individual persons This would be an example of the third type of idiographic research in terms of intraindividual variation or change across situations and/or time as identified by Krauss (2008). Common patterns that are applicable for certain groups or even all persons, and additional patterns that are unique for only one individual, may emerge using this ABCDE-framework Such a Big Data approach to individual persons in their natural habitats would revive and extend Barker and Wright’s (1951) ecological approach that aimed at describing the stream of behaviours of children in their everyday lives as detailed as possible by trained human observers. Because the observers ‘only’ registered the behaviours of the children, affects, cognitions and desires that could be assessed via ESM (and in part biological indicators) would extend this approach
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