<P> In psychology, idiographic describes the study of the individual, who is seen as a unique agent with a unique life history, with properties setting him / her apart from other individuals (see idiographic image). A common method to study these unique characteristics is an (auto) biography, i.e. a narrative that recounts the unique sequence of events that made the person who she is . Nomothetic describes the study of classes or cohorts of individuals . Here the subject is seen as an exemplar of a population and their corresponding personality traits and behaviours . The terms idiographic and nomothetic were introduced to American psychology by Gordon Allport in 1937 . </P> <P> Theodore Millon (1995) states that when spotting and diagnosing personality disorders, first we start with the nomothetic perspective and look for various general scientific laws; then when you believe you have a disorder, you switch your view to the idiographic perspective to focus on the specific individual and his or her unique traits . </P> <P> In sociology, the nomothetic model tries to find independent variables that account for the variations in a given phenomenon (e.g. What is the relationship between timing / frequency of childbirth and education?). Nomothetic explanations are probabilistic and usually incomplete . The idiographic model focuses on a complete, in - depth understanding of a single case (e.g. Why do I not have any children?). </P> <P> In anthropology, idiographic describes the study of a group, seen as an entity, with specific properties that set it apart from other groups . Nomothetic refers to the use of generalization rather than specific properties in the same context . </P>

The idiographic approach to the study of personality