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Nomothetic
Nomothetic literally means "proposition of the law" (Greek derivation) and is used in philosophy, psychology, and law with differing meanings. Etymology In the general humanities usage, ''nomothetic'' may be used in the sense of "able to lay down the law", "having the capacity to posit lasting sense" (from , from , from and ultimately ), e.g., 'the nomothetic capability of the early mythmakers' or 'the nomothetic skill of Adam, given the power to name things.' In psychology In psychology, ''nomothetic'' refers to research about general principles or generalizations across a population of individuals. For example, the Big Five model of personality and Piaget's developmental stages are nomothetic models of personality traits and cognitive development respectively. In contrast, '' idiographic'' refers to research about the unique and contingent aspects of individuals, as in psychological case studies. In psychological testing, nomothetic measures are contrasted to ipsative o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nomothetic And Idiographic
Nomothetic and idiographic are terms used by Neo-Kantian philosopher Wilhelm Windelband to describe two distinct approaches to knowledge, each one corresponding to a different intellectual tendency, and each one corresponding to a different branch of academia. To say that Windelband supported that last dichotomy is a consequent misunderstanding of his own thought. For him, any branch of science and any discipline can be handled by both methods as they offer two integrating points of view. * ''Nomothetic'' is based on what Kant described as a tendency to generalize, and is typical for the natural sciences. It describes the effort to derive laws that explain ''types'' or ''categories'' of objective phenomena, in general. * ''Idiographic'' is based on what Kant described as a tendency to specify, and is typical for the humanities. It describes the effort to understand the meaning of contingent, unique, and often cultural or subjective phenomena. Use in the social sciences The prob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature and language, as opposed to the study of religion, or "divinity". The study of the humanities was a key part of the secular curriculum in universities at the time. Today, the humanities are more frequently defined as any fields of study outside of natural sciences, social sciences, formal sciences (like mathematics), and applied sciences (or Professional development, professional training). They use methods that are primarily Critical theory, critical, speculative, or interpretative and have a significant historical element—as distinguished from the mainly Empirical method, empirical approaches of science."Humanity" 2.b, ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd ed. (2003). The humanities include the academic study of philosophy, religion, histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idiothetic
Idiothetic literally means "self-proposition" (Greek derivation), and is used in navigation models (e.g., of a rat in a maze) to describe the use of self-motion cues, rather than allothetic, or external, cues such as landmarks, to determine position and movement. The word is sometimes also spelled "ideothetic" (e.g., Chen et al, 1994 ). Idiothetic cues include vestibular, optic flow and proprioception. Idiothetic cues are important for the type of navigation known as path integrationMittelstaedt, H. and Mittelstaedt, M.-L. (1973). "Mechanismen der orientierung ohne richtende aussenreize." Fortschr. Zool. 21:46–58. in which subjects navigate purely using such self-motion cues. This is achieved by an animal through the signals generated by angular and linear accelerations in the course of its exploration. This information generates and updates a vector towards the starting point and an accurate path for return. The spider '' Cupiennius salei'' has been known to possess this idi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its methods and assumptions. Historically, many of the individual sciences, such as physics and psychology, formed part of philosophy. However, they are considered separate academic disciplines in the modern sense of the term. Influential traditions in the history of philosophy include Western philosophy, Western, Islamic philosophy, Arabic–Persian, Indian philosophy, Indian, and Chinese philosophy. Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece and covers a wide area of philosophical subfields. A central topic in Arabic–Persian philosophy is the relation between reason and revelation. Indian philosophy combines the Spirituality, spiritual problem of how to reach Enlightenment in Buddhism, enlighten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ipsative
In psychology, ipsative questionnaires (; from Latin: ''ipse'', 'of the self') are those where the sum of scale scores from each respondent adds to a constant value. Sometimes called a forced-choice scale, this measure contrasts Likert-type scales in which respondents score—often from 1 to 5—how much they agree with a given statement (see also norm-referenced test). In psychology While mean scores from Likert-type scales can be compared across individuals, scores from an ipsative measure cannot. To explain, if an individual was equally extraverted and conscientious and was assessed on a Likert-type scale, each trait would be evaluated singularly, i.e. respondents would see the item "I enjoy parties" and agree or disagree with it to whatever degree reflected their preferences. If the same traits were evaluated on an ipsative measure, respondents would be forced to choose between the two, i.e. a respondent would see the item "Which of these do you agree with more strongly? a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categorize history as a social science, while others see it as part of the humanities or consider it a hybrid discipline. Similar debates surround the purpose of history—for example, whether its main aim is theoretical, to uncover the truth, or practical, to learn lessons from the past. In a more general sense, the term ''history'' refers not to an academic field but to the past itself, times in the past, or to individual texts about the past. Historical research relies on Primary source, primary and secondary sources to reconstruct past events and validate interpretations. Source criticism is used to evaluate these sources, assessing their authenticity, content, and reliability. Historians strive to integrate the perspectives o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, while cultural anthropology studies cultural meaning, including norms and values. The term sociocultural anthropology is commonly used today. Linguistic anthropology studies how language influences social life. Biological anthropology, Biological (or physical) anthropology studies the biology and evolution of Human evolution, humans and their close primate relatives. Archaeology, often referred to as the "anthropology of the past," explores human activity by examining physical remains. In North America and Asia, it is generally regarded as a branch of anthropology, whereas in Europe, it is considered either an independent discipline or classified under related fields like history and palaeontology. Etymology The abstract noun ''wikt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociology was coined in the late 18th century to describe the scientific study of society. Regarded as a part of both the social sciences and humanities, sociology uses various methods of Empirical research, empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social order and social change. Sociological subject matter ranges from Microsociology, micro-level analyses of individual interaction and agency (sociology), agency to Macrosociology, macro-level analyses of social systems and social structure. Applied sociological research may be applied directly to social policy and welfare, whereas Theory, theoretical approaches may focus on the understanding of social processes and phenomenology (sociology), phenomenologic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Case Study In Psychology
Case study in psychology refers to the use of a descriptive research approach to obtain an in-depth analysis of a person, group, or phenomenon. A variety of techniques may be employed including personal interviews, direct-observation, psychometric tests, and archival records. In psychology case studies are most often used in clinical research to describe rare events and conditions, which contradict well established principles in the field of psychology.Christensen, L. B. (1994).“Experimental methodology"( 6th ed)., Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster . Case studies are generally a single-case design, but can also be a multiple-case design, where replication instead of sampling is the criterion for inclusion.Yin, R.(1994). “Case study research: Design and methods” (2nd ed.) Beverly Hills, CA.: SAGE Publishing . Like other research methodologies within psychology, the case study must produce valid and reliable results in order to be useful for the development of future res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychological Testing
Psychological testing refers to the administration of psychological tests. Psychological tests are administered or scored by trained evaluators. A person's responses are evaluated according to carefully prescribed guidelines. Scores are thought to reflect individual or group differences in the construct the test purports to measure. The science behind psychological testing is psychometrics.Nunnally, J.C., & Bernstein, I.H. (1994). ''Psychometric theory''. New York: McGraw-Hill. Psychological tests According to Anastasi and Urbina, psychological tests involve observations made on a "carefully chosen ''sample'' mphasis authorsof an individual's behavior." A psychological test is often designed to measure unobserved constructs, also known as latent variables. Psychological tests can include a series of tasks, problems to solve, and characteristics (e.g., behaviors, symptoms) the presence of which the respondent affirms/denies to varying degrees. Psychological tests can include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feelings, and motivation, motives. Psychology is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between the Natural science, natural and social sciences. Biological psychologists seek an understanding of the Emergence, emergent properties of brains, linking the discipline to neuroscience. As social scientists, psychologists aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups.Hockenbury & Hockenbury. Psychology. Worth Publishers, 2010. A professional practitioner or researcher involved in the discipline is called a psychologist. Some psychologists can also be classified as Behavioural sciences, behavioral or Cognitive science, cognitive scientists. Some psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
