Abstract
Most psychological scientists make inferences about the relations among variables of interest by comparing aggregated data from groups of individuals. Although this method is unarguably a useful one that will continue to yield scientific advances, important limitations exist regarding the efficiency and flexibility of such designs, as well as with the generality of obtained results. Idiographic research strategies, which focus on the intensive study of individual organisms over time, offer a proficient and flexible alternative to group comparison designs; however, they are rarely taught in graduate training programs and are seldom used by psychological scientists. We highlight some of the unique strengths of idiographic methods, such as single case experimental designs, and suggest that psychological science will progress most efficiently with an increased use of such methods in both laboratory and clinical settings.
Highlights
Most psychological scientists make inferences about the relations among variables of interest by comparing aggregated data from groups of individuals
Edward Tolman said to Gordon Allport “I know I should be more idiographic in my research, but I just don’t know how to be,” to which Allport replied, “let’s learn!” (Allport, 1962, p. 414). This sentiment was based on the fact that, whether it’s a laboratory rat, or a patient in the clinic with a psychological disorder, it is the individual organism that is the principle unit of analysis in the science of psychology
The intensive study of the individual is associated with a hallowed tradition in scientific psychology
Summary
Most psychological scientists make inferences about the relations among variables of interest by comparing aggregated data from groups of individuals. The founders of experimental psychology including Fechner, Wundt, Ebbinghaus, and Pavlov studied individual organisms with scientific approaches that would be considered internally valid, and strengthened these findings (and began to establish generality) through replication in other organisms (see Barlow, Nock, & Hersen, 2008).
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