Glossary / Lexicon

Nomothetic Approach refers to the approach to the study of personality stresses that uniqueness may be accounted for as a point of intersection of a number of quantitative variables.

The theorist who uses the Nomothetic approach usually describes personality in terms of traits that all people posses in greater or lesser degrees.

Nomothetic approach is also defined as the study of groups in contrast to the study of individuals. It is the approach that examines or attempts to identify general principles of behavior, deemphasizing individual differences. This approach is associated with empirically oriented clinical practice. Moreover, Nomothetic approach is a method of understanding personality that compares many people along the same personality dimensions. This approach to the study of personality stresses that uniqueness may be accounted for as a point of intersection of a number of quantitative variables. The theorist who uses the Nomothetic approach usually describes personality in terms of traits that all people posses in greater or lesser degrees.