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The purpose of this research was to probe the philosophical beliefs of instructional designers using sound philosophical constructs and quantitative data collection and analysis. We investigated the philosophical and methodological beliefs of instructional designers, including 152 instructional design faculty members and 118 non-faculty professionals. We used the Philosophy of Social Science Inventory, a 52-item questionnaire, to measure 20 beliefs within four categories. We probed four ontological beliefs (ontological realism, ontological relativism, physicalism, and idealism); five epistemological beliefs (epistemological relativism, fallibilism, epistemological objectivity, rationalism, and empiricism); three axiological beliefs (ethical realism, ethical relativism, and valueneutrality in research); and eight methodological beliefs (nomothetic, idiographic and critical methods, scientific naturalism, humanism, and quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods). Our research questions included (a) What are the predominant philosophical and methodological beliefs of instructional designers? (b) Do instructional design faculty and non-faculty instructional designers, identifying with different research methodologies, hold different sets of philosophical beliefs? and (c) What relationships exist between philosophical beliefs and age, gender, ethnicity, level of education, and/or years of service? Overall, the philosophical profile of instructional designers can reasonably be described as pragmatic. Belief characterizations of methodological subgroups (e.g., those identifying with qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research) generally supported our hypotheses. Although demographic variables (except gender) were not singularly important, our analyses suggest that a combination of ethnicity, gender, research preference, and level of education can be used to predict philosophical and methodological beliefs.

Theory, research, and application in developmental science share the conceptual and methodological challenges of integrating the study of the course of a person's intra-individual changes and the formulation of subgroup (differential) or nomothetic generalizations. One approach to these challenges has involved building tailored construct representations that filter out irrelevant idiosyncratic information hampering the articulation of nomothetic relations by means of individual level factor analysis (P–technique). Exploring this approach has provided initially promising results (Nesselroade, Gerstorf, Hardy, & Ram, 2007). We present a specification of an alternative to traditional factor invariance (higher-order invariance) that further formalizes these ideas and examine the results of some simulation experiments designed to evaluate the appropriateness of the implementation. The results also have implications for use in basic and applied work across the life span of between-persons variation and subgroup...

In this article we explore the discourse and practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in the context of social and cultural diversity. The article consists of 2 parts. First, we begin by defining EBM, describing its historical development and current ascendance in medical practice. We then note its importance in contemporary psychiatry, comparing dynamics between the United States and Canada. Secondly, we offer a constructive critique of the application of EBM and evidence-based practices in the context of ethnocultural diversity, as one consistent reflection on the EBM literature is that it is does not adequately address issues of diversity. In doing so, we use the situation here in Canada as an extended case study, though our observations will likely be applicable in other diverse nations, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. We critically examine the following 6 issues related to the practice of EBM in a diverse society: generalizability and transferability of evidence-based interventions; diversifying standards of evidence in EBM; strategies to address diversity in EBM research; cultural adaptations of evidence-based interventions; integrating idiographic knowledge; and, training and health service delivery. Concurrent with our critique, we offer research and practice suggestions that may address outstanding challenges vis-à-vis the practice of EBM in a diverse society. These include a need for more effectiveness research, more openness to diverse sources of knowledge, better integration of idiographic and nomothetic knowledge, and a critical approach to extrapolation and transfer of knowledge.

Leakage in the context of threat assessment is the communication to a third party of an intent to do harm to a target. Third parties are usually other people, but the means of communication vary, and include letters, diaries, journals, blogs, videos on the internet, emails, voice mails, and other social media forms of transmission. Leakage is a type of warning behavior that typically infers a preoccupation with the target, and may signal the research, planning, and implementation of an attack. Nomothetic data suggest that leakage occurs in a majority of cases of attacks on and assassinations of public figures, adult mass murders, adolescent mass murders, and school or campus shootings: very low-frequency, but catastrophic acts of intended and targeted violence. Idiographic or case data illustrate the various permutations of leakage. We discuss the operational importance of the concept, place it in the context of other warning behaviors, emphasize the need for further research, and outline risk management strategies for the mitigation of such acts of violence in both law enforcement and clinical mental health settings.

The disposal of nuclear waste involves extensive time scales. Technical experts consider up to 1 million years for the disposal of spent fuel and high-level waste in their safety assessment. Yet nuclear waste is not only a technical but also a so-called sociotechnical problem and, therefore, requires interdisciplinary collaboration between technical, natural, social sciences, and the humanities in its management. Given that these disciplines differ in their language, epistemics, and interests, such collaboration might be problematic. Based on evidence from cognitive psychology, we suggest that, in particular, a concept like time is presumably critical and can be understood differently. This study explores how different scientific disciplines understand extensive time scales in general and then focuses on nuclear waste. Eighteen qualitative exploratory interviews were conducted with experts for time-related phenomena of different disciplines, among them experts working in nuclear waste management. Analyses revealed two distinct conceptions of time corresponding to idiographic and nomothetic research approaches: scientists from the humanities and social sciences tend to have a more open, undetermined conception of time, whereas natural scientists tend to focus on a more determined conception that includes some undetermined aspects. Our analyses lead to reflections on potential difficulties for interdisciplinary teams in nuclear waste management. We focus on the understanding of the safety assessment, on potential implications for communication between experts from different disciplines (e.g., between experts from the humanities and engineering for risk assessment and risk communication), and we reflect on the roles of different disciplines in nuclear waste management.

A review of methodological inquiry shows that, from its inception, comparative public administration (CPA) scholarship brushed over important epistemological and ontological questions in favor of searching for broad-based, generalizable theories that subscribed to only objectivist ontologies. This article traces these problematic methodological assumptions in contemporary CPA research back to the mischaracterization of the terms idiographic and nomothetic in CPA research. Revisiting this history is important because the recognition of this distinction allows room in the field for research that highlights the uniqueness of different cultural contexts and constructs.

A 10-year-old boy was referred for ongoing behavioral problems. These problems were reported as having occurred at home since preschool years and had become increasingly problematic outside of the home in latter years, resulting in frequent suspensions from school. A range of diagnoses had been made in the years prior to referral, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder–not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). The central intervention since age 6 had been pharmacotherapy, with intermittent support at school in the form of school counseling and teachers’ aids. However, the situation appeared to only be worsening, and the need for a more integrated, multimodal approach was recognized. In addition to individual therapy for the client and his mother, the intervention also included engagement of the father, collaboration with other educational and professional service providers, and the development of an integrated plan with shared objectives and strategies. The case explores limitations inherent in taking a medical model diagnostic approach to child behavioral problems and highlights the need to utilize an idiographic approach taking a range of individual psychosocial circumstances into account, rather than taking a more nomothetic treatment approach based mainly on diagnostic assessment.

I am a narrative historian. By narrative, I mean the telling of a story to explain and analyze events and human agency in order to increase understanding. As a narrative historian, I have not made extensive use of theory in my analysis of past events. In fact, in the past I consistently rejected theory, considering it more of a hindrance than a help.The historian Geoffrey Roberts stated, “History is frequently labelled an idiographical discipline as opposed to a nomothetic one, that is, a discipline whose knowledge objects are particular, individual, and specific rather than classes of phenomena which are abstracted and subsumed in generalisations about trends, patterns and causal determinations.” In this vein, it was my view—as Peter Burke noted—that history examines particulars and “attend to concrete detail,” while theory attends to “general rules and screen[s] out the exceptions.”

Three approaches to world art history are outlined: top down (transnational); bottom up (national); and interstitial. The constructed category of ‘Modern Asian Art’ relativizes all other modernities, including the Euramerican, and is first of all differentiated by a new corpus of reference works and the criteria for canonizing these. The implied audience for national studies may challenge the validity of these criteria.

Interest is growing in community psychology to look more closely at culture. Culture has resided in community psychology in its emphasis on context, ecology, and diversity, however we believe that the field will benefit from a more explicit focus on culture. We suggest a cultural approach that values the community's points of view and an understanding of shared and divergent meanings, goals, and norms within a theory of empowerment. Furthermore, we posit the importance of pluralistic, multi-method programs of research and action encompassing both idiographic and nomothetic approaches, and critical reflexivity of our roles and agendas. Culture can be further incorporated into all the branches and fibers of community psychology.

In straightened times counselling must evidence the changes it promotes on reputable measures. Patient-generated measures complement nomothetic measures and may be nearer the ethos of counselling in eliciting individuals' problems. Scores from such measures from non-clinical samples are rarely reported, making their test-retest stability uncertain. We report the prevalence and stability of self-reported problems using PSYCHLOPS (Psychological Outcome Profiles) in a non-clinical student population. PSYCHLOPS is a four-item, self-administered, patient-generated instrument. PSYCHLOPS was completed twice, 7–10 days apart. A wide range of problems was reported and showed satisfactory test-retest stability: Pearson, 0.66; Spearman, 0.68; intra-class correlation coefficient, 0.70. This is reassuring as instability would undermine PSYCHLOPS as a sensitive change measure.

Pain assessment and treatment is challenging and can be influenced by patient demographic characteristics. Few research studies have been able to specifically examine these influences experimentally. The present study investigated the effects of patients' sex, race, age, and pain expression on healthcare students' assessment of pain and pain-related sequelae using virtual human (VH) technology. A lens model design was employed, which is an analogue method for capturing how individuals use environmental information to make judgments. In this study, decision-making policies were captured at the nomothetic and idiographic level. Participants included 107 healthcare students who viewed 32 VH patients that differed in sex, race, age, and pain expression in an online study. Participants provided ratings on a 100-point scale on the VH pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, negative mood, coping, and need for medical treatment. Nomothetic analyses revealed that female, African American, older, and high pain expression VH were rated higher than male, Caucasian, younger, and low pain expression VH, respectively, on most of the five ratings. Idiographic analyses revealed detailed findings for individuals' decision-making policies. VH technology and the lens model design were shown to be highly effective in examining individuals' decision making policies. Pain assessment often varied among individuals based on patient demographic and facial expression cues. This study could serve as a model for future investigations of pain assessment and treatment in healthcare students and providers.

What are the fundamental factors that promote highly influential creativity? How do these factors differ in Western and Far Eastern civilizations? Many researchers have addressed these questions using historiometrics, a method that tests nomothetic hypotheses about human behaviour by subjecting historical and biographical data to objective and quantitative analyses. These investigations may entail either aggregate-level analyses (e.g., generational time series of creative activity) or individual-level analyses (e.g., cross-sectional studies of creative achievement). Moreover, the empirical findings in each of these two approaches fall into two categories of East-West comparisons: (i) shared variables and convergent results and (ii) shared variables and divergent results. After reviewing representative findings in each of these categories, we discuss what the results imply about the nature of high-impact creativity in the East and West and also explore areas of potential future historiometric research.

This special issue of Journal of Personality brings together 10 original articles addressing the intersection of personality and politics. Articles build on classic traditions in political psychology by presenting both idiographic and nomothetic work on the motivational, cognitive, ideological, attitudinal, and identity correlates of many different aspects of political behavior. This work is used to understand political activism and leadership as well as everyday political behavior. We hope this collection of articles will inspire our readers to explore new investigations in personality and political psychology.

This paper introduces the Special Section on personality disorder and violence. The first paper evaluates the impact of removing the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) as a mandatory element of a major approach to the assessment of violence risk-the HCR-20. The second paper considers violence to self as well as violence to others; it examines the influence of dysfunctional personality traits in a sample of female offenders. The third paper provides a systematic framework for risk formulation, discussing how to bridge the gap between nomothetic research and the individual case. This paper concludes by arguing that there is a need to shift perspective from asking "what?" dysfunctional traits are relevant to future violence to "why?" are particular traits relevant. The "why?" question is particularly germane in the forensic arena where expert testimony must endeavor to provide a causal explanation of risk processes at the level of the individual. Language: en

Fieldwork, especially in "foreign" lands, is one of the time-honored hallmarks of professional geography, yet as Felix Driver (2000, p. 267) and others have noted, "little attention has been paid to the specifically geographical dimensions of field-work [sic] or to its history within the discipline." In this article I will explore pieces of this history through the practice of return visitation to particular places, with an emphasis on the record of North American geographers' engagement with Latin America. In turn, Carl Sauer's Mexican research, together with that of some of his students and others inspired by his example, appears to be the most tightly woven net of repeat visitation. Here, one finds multiple strands of crisscrossing lines of reconnaissance and research, and complicated proxy relations involving individuals from later generations pursuing topics initiated by individuals from earlier ones. Space here does not permit more than sketching the outlines of this history, but it does illustrate some of the salient aspects of repeat visitation, and points to a neglected topic in the history of geography. Viewed from the broad perspective of geography's historical record, the practice of return or repeat visits appears to be a more recent development than a time-honored tradition. Various factors can be proposed as contributing to this apparent trend toward repetition. Perhaps the foremost is geography's shift from a spatial-descriptive exploratory enterprise to a modern scientific discipline with a premium placed on deriving generalizations through replicable results. Although few of the human geographers in the past century engaging in foreign area research have been self-conscious devotees of approaches involving nomothetic, spatial analytical science, the ascendancy of a "scientific" human geography in the post-WWII period can be implicated in the decline of chorology and geographic description for its own sake. A second impetus also might be seen as more influence from outside geography than from within. Along with the rise of a more analytic, "scientific" human geography, geographers began to interact more with other social scientists, and borrow from their theory and practice. For field-oriented geographers working abroad, especially cultural geographers, the paths most often crossed or followed were anthropological. Increasingly archaeologists and ethnologists were digging in and making long investments in discrete study sites, rather than mounting wide-ranging surveys and broad collecting ventures. A variant of this development, especially for geographers, is repeat visit research at intervals to measure change (or lack of it) in places, landscapes, or regions (Vale and Vale 1983; Works and Hadley 2000; Walker and Leib 2002; McSweeny 2008; Brady 2009). Elements of the mobility and transience of the older survey and collection mode is carried forward, but with an emphasis on demonstrating familiarity rather than novelty. A fourth influence that began to emerge by the 1960s and was accelerated by that decade's ferment, involved ethical questions and issues. Anthropologists, followed by other social scientists including geographers, generally came to see and accept that not only their research had varying impacts on their "subjects," but also that forms of reciprocity might be part of a researcher's protocol and practice. Among other modes, this has taken the form of extended ties to individuals or communities, often spanning decades since the initial research was conducted (Richardson 1998). In varying degrees, all of these underlying factors may play a part in the decisions and the designs that have led geographers to return at intervals, often multiple times, to favored sites, landscapes, or regions. I suspect, however, that most returnees would simply say that the main rationale or attraction is that they have come to identify strongly with their adopted site or region and feel a need or obligation to return. …

This study investigated the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism, self-reported interpersonal relationships, and peer-reported prosocial, disruptive, and academic behaviors among a general sample of 984 9th-grade adolescents. Cut-scores from the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R; Slaney, Rice, Mobley, Trippi, & Ashby, 2001) classified adolescents as adaptive perfectionists, maladaptive perfectionists, and nonperfectionist. Adaptive perfectionists reported significantly higher levels of positive interpersonal relationships than maladaptive perfectionists or nonperfectionists. Further, peers rated both perfectionism groups as more prosocial and less disruptive than nonperfectionists. Adaptive perfectionists were more liked than maladaptive perfectionists. Implications of these findings, particularly as they pertain to the nomothetic understanding of multidimensional perfectionism among older, school-aged adolescents conclude the paper.

Thomas Reid thinks of natural philosophy as a purely nomothetic enterprise but he maintains that it is proper for natural philosophers to employ causal terminology in formulating their explanatory claims. In this paper, I analyze this puzzle in light of Reid's distinction between efficient and physical causation – a distinction he grounds in his strict understanding of active powers. I consider several possible reasons that Reid may have for maintaining that natural philosophers ought to employ causal terminology and suggest that the underlying rationale for his views is his understanding of the aims of explanation and their connection to the interests of human agents. The ultimate aim of knowing the causes of phenomena is to mollify the natural intellectual curiosity of human inquirers and provide guidance that insures successful action. The discovery of laws governing phenomena fulfills this aim and, as such, it is appropriate for natural philosophers to employ causal terminology.

This study documents an ideographic approach to the assessment of sport confidence in applied settings. In contrast to traditional nomothetic measures, confidence profiling provides an assessment of sport confidence from the athlete’s own perspective. Seven athletes (4 male, 3 female) completed the profile and were encouraged to give an accurate account of their sources and types of confidence, and identify the factors that were debilitative to their confidence levels. Reflective practice on the application of confidence profiling, provided by three British Association of Sport and Exercise Science Accredited sport psychologists, demonstrated the versatility of approach, and indicated that the process allowed the athlete to accurately recall their confidence related experiences and attain an accurate and in-depth assessment of their sport confidence. Thus, it was concluded that completed confidence profiles could provide a strong foundation from which athlete-centered interventions might be developed.

This research aims to understand Physical Education as a pedagogic principle that enables the application of interdisciplinarity in the children’s learning process. The eight teachers interviewed work with children’s educationin schools in the city of Campo Grande, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Phenomenology supports the theoreticalprocess in the idiographic and nomothetic analyses of the interviewees’statements. It was possible to identifythat Physical Education enables inter-relations between the constitutive elements in children’s education; it is also a means to construct interdisciplinarityin Children’s Education, with the promotion of interaction among teachers from different subjects. Esta pesquisa visa compreender a Educação Física como princípio pedagógico que possibilite a interdisciplinaridade no processo de aprendizagem da criança. Para esse fim, foram entrevistados oito professores de educação infantil que trabalham em escolas da cidade de Campo Grande, estado do Mato Grosso do Sul. A Fenomenologia sustenta o processo teórico na análise dos depoimentos. Identificamos que a Educação Física viabiliza inter-relações entre os elementos constitutivos da educação da criança e se apresenta como caminho para fazer essa interdisciplinaridade, promovendo a interação entre os professores das diferentes disciplinas.

This investigation examined the influence of EFL student teacher self-regulation of learning (SRL) on their curricular content-knowledge and course-design skills. Positivism guided this study at the levels of: ontology (one form of reality); epistemology (detachment from the subjects); and methodology, using nomothetic research strategy (causal comparative), instruments (questionnaires and tests) and data analysis techniques (planned and post-hoc ANOVAs and post-hoc tests of multiple comparisons). Results contradicted mainstream research on SRL since no differences were found between the low, average and high SRL groups in their curricular knowledge and course-design skills. The low achieving group included similar proportions of low, average and high SRL students; so did the average and high achieving groups. The study cast doubts on current SRL self-reporting measures and recommended think-aloud techniques for assessing student SRL while performing actual tasks. The study standardised an achievement tes...

Forensic agencies and institutions are charged with treating the most socially disruptive and mentally disordered individuals while securing public safety. Egregious behaviors in these settings demand immediate response and scarce resources. Functional assessment, sometimes used synonymously with functional or behavioral analysis, is presented as a cornerstone tool to help identify targets for intervention and hypothesize causal behavioral connections. Using an interactive chain analysis approach, the temporal sequence of behavior is examined across domains with an emphasis on obtaining operational knowledge about the functions and controlling variables of target behaviors. A clinical case example is used to illustrate the potential contribution of FA in forensic assessment and case conceptualization. Keywords: functional analysis; egregious behaviors; drug courts; nondrug dependent Forensic agencies and institutions are charged with treating the most socially disruptive and mentally disordered individuals while securing public safety. Staff and administrators in these settings face great challenges in dealing with egregious acts such as self-harm, suicidal, assaultive, and escape behaviors. The public holds high expectations for community supervision, while in custody even higher ethical mandate dictates oversight should be sufficient to prevent harm to those confined, whether self- or other-induced (American Correctional Association, 2003). Egregious behaviors in custodial settings demand immediate response and scarce resources, expensive emergency security and medical services, the involvement of skilled professional staff, and increased supervision and reporting. Some residents may view incidents as an opportunity to engage in other disruptive activities; other residents incur trauma-related costs at witnessing or hearing them. Studies of stress among clinicians indicate their most extreme stresses include client suicide attempts, threats of attempts, and client anger (Deutsch, 1984; Hellman, Morrison, & Abromovitz, 1987). When incidents occur frequently, staff morale and sense of control often deteriorate (McCann, Ball, & Ivanoff, 2000; Morgan, Van Haveren, & Pearson, 2002). Thus, managing and treating behaviors that disrupt safe and secure programming is a high priority in any residential setting. Management requires the ability to predict, control, and guide mission-critical events. Clinicians are often called on to assist and are expected to apply their understanding of human behavior to the tasks set out by administrators. From a behavioral perspective, this requires an environment that facilitates relevant and accurate assessment, effective blocking of behavior, and control over contingencies that supports both a willingness to try new things and more skillful behavior. Addressing the implementation of all three is beyond the scope of a single article; here we focus on assessment-the issue that sets the table for predicting, controlling, and altering a given behavior. The purpose of this article is to acquaint or reacquaint readers with functional assessment (FA), a fundamental method in behavioral assessment. Here we present and enthusiastically endorse the use of FA as a robust and cost-effective means of meeting a variety of treatment demands in forensic residential programming. A case example illustrates FA in a prison setting. Forensic risk assessment largely focuses on the use of nomothetic and population-based methods for determining violence risk and recidivism (Baird, 2009; Underwood & Knight, 2006). Population-based assessments are typically developed for maximal prediction of the occurrence or absence of a behavior within a given period. These risk assessments are typically contextneutral; they do not specify when and where risk is highest. As an example, for every drunken fight a client gets into, there are incidents in which the same high-violence-risk individual drinks and does not fight; however, his risk score as determined by current risk measures is identical each time within the same week or month. …

Random responding to psychological inventories is a long-standing concern among clinical practitioners and researchers interested in interpreting idiographic data, but it is typically viewed as having only a minor impact on the statistical inferences drawn from nomothetic data. This article explores the impact of random responding on the size and direction of correlations observed between multi-item inventory scores. Random responses to individual items result in nonrandomly distributed inventory-level scores. Therefore, even low base rates of random responding can significantly affect the statistical inferences made from inventory-level data. Study 1 uses simulations to show that even low base rates of random responding can significantly affect observed correlations, especially when the inventories in question assess low or high base rate phenomena. Study 2 uses archival data to illustrate the moderating effect of random responding on observed correlations in two samples.

In this article we critique current conceptualizations and methods of studying posttraumatic growth and offer an alternative framework using clinical trauma theory, specifically, Constructivist Self Development Theory (CSDT). We identify five limitations in the current literature: (1) a strict adherence to nomothetic investigation, (2) reliance on moderator analyses over descriptive inquiry, (3) exclusive use of univariate outcome indicators, (4) failure to distinguish effortful from automatic change, and (5) oversight of abrupt change. We offer CSDT as an integrative clinical theory that identifies five aspects of the self affected by traumatic events and examine how the study of thriving guided by CSDT could overcome these limitations. We conclude with a discussion of change, distinguishing that which occurs within psychotherapy from that which occurs outside the therapeutic context.

The present research examined a two-path model of homicide defined by psychopathic and neuropathic pathways. Twenty-six forensic psychiatric inpatients found not guilty due to reason of insanity of homicide or attempted homicides were assessed. A large number of variables derived from standardized neuropsychological psychometric assessment, actuarial and structured risk assessment tools and structured interviews were analysed. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and the Answer Tree program showed that independence of the two pathways was observed from a nomothetic analysis with individual variations understood by the complex variable relationships at an idiographic level.

The relationship between interaction and learning is a central concern of the learning sciences, and analysis of interaction has emerged as a major theme within the current literature on computer-supported collaborative learning. The nature of technology-mediated interaction poses analytic challenges. Interaction may be distributed across actors, space, and time, and vary from synchronous, quasi-synchronous, and asynchronous, even within one data set. Often multiple media are involved and the data comes in a variety of formats. As a consequence, there are multiple analytic artifacts to inspect and the interaction may not be apparent upon inspection, being distributed across these artifacts. To address these problems as they were encountered in several studies in our own laboratory, we developed a framework for conceptualizing and representing distributed interaction. The framework assumes an analytic concern with uncovering or characterizing the organization of interaction in sequential records of events. The framework includes a media independent characterization of the most fundamental unit of interaction, which we call uptake. Uptake is present when a participant takes aspects of prior events as having relevance for ongoing activity. Uptake can be refined into interactional relationships of argumentation, information sharing, transactivity, and so forth for specific analytic objectives. Faced with the myriad of ways in which uptake can manifest in practice, we represent data using graphs of relationships between events that capture the potential ways in which one act can be contingent upon another. These contingency graphs serve as abstract transcripts that document in one representation interaction that is distributed across multiple media. This paper summarizes the requirements that motivate the framework, and discusses the theoretical foundations on which it is based. It then presents the framework and its application in detail, with examples from our work to illustrate how we have used it to support both ideographic and nomothetic research, using qualitative and quantitative methods. The paper concludes with a discussion of the framework’s potential role in supporting dialogue between various analytic concerns and methods represented in CSCL.

As part of its Institutional Program on Psychiatry for the Person, the World Psychiatric Association has called for an idiographic element to be added to psychiatric diagnosis to complement criteriological and dimensional elements. Such a call, however, prompts the question of what kind of additional element this is. Just what is meant by idiographic understanding and how, exactly, does it complement, by being distinct from, other elements within psychiatric diagnostic judgement? The first half of this paper continues discussion from an earlier paper [Thornton: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2008;258 (suppl 5):104–109] to consider the idea, inspired by Wilhelm Windelband’s rectoral address of 1894, that idiographic judgement is distinct because it is a special kind of ‘individualised’ judgement about individuals. I argue, however, that the most promising interpretation of this idea falls prey to Wilfrid Sellars argument against the Myth of the Given and thus it cannot be a genuine complement to criteriological diagnosis. In addition to this idea, however, ‘idiographic’ has also been used to label narrative judgement. The second half of the paper highlights how narrative judgement, shorn of any connection to metaphysical theories of the self, is an essentially normative form of judgement that contrasts with, and can thus complement, criteriological diagnosis.

The purpose of this article is to discuss new methodological developments, starting with Schilling and Hogge (2001) , aimed at establishing a nomothetic version of the Brunswikian lens model based on multilevel models (multilevel latent class regression). This genuinely person-oriented approach simultaneously allows the idiographic assessment of individual judgment processes and the nomothetic examination of evidence of generalization across individuals. Data of a pilot project on forest persons’ subjective judgment of the quality of wood (“Forstlicher Götterblick”) are used to demonstrate the proposal: In a paper-pencil test, 29 forest persons (forestry students and foresters) each estimated the internal wood quality of 40 trees on a 6-point rating scale using information provided about six well-known external wood properties for each tree. Two judgment strategies were identified (“Take-The-Best” and random) which could also be assigned to two different types of subjects (“novices” vs. “experts”). Summarizing, this approach combines both person-oriented and variable-oriented concepts.

In considering the history of biodiversity paleontologists have focused on exploratory investigations of empirical data derived from the fossil record. Starting with the pioneering work of Philips (1860), and continuing at an increasing pace through today, this inductive approach has dominated diversity research. In contrast, deductive theoretical considerations that focus on the expected history of biodiversity, and develop independently of empirical knowledge, have remained underexplored. Appreciating the need for a nomothetic paleobiology (Gould 1980), we here reconsider the history of biodiversity, using deductive models constrained by a few, self-evident parameters. This analysis centers on the marine fossil record, the primary target of most previous empirical studies on the geological history of global biodiversity (e.g., Valentine 1969; Raup 1972, 1976; Sepkoski et al. 1981; Alroy et al. 2008). Biosphere-scale studies of the geological history of diversity have followed two general strategies: (1) analyses of global-scale literature and meta-analytical compilations of fossil ranges and occurrences (e.g., Sepkoski 1981, 1984, 1993; Sepkoski et al. 1981; Benton 1995; Alroy et al. 2001, 2008; Stanley 2007); and (2) local-scale (alpha) abundance-diversity analyses of sets of quantifiable bulk samples, preferably with broad geographic coverage (e.g., Bambach 1977; Powell and Kowalewski 2002; Bush and Bambach 2004; Kowalewski et al. 2006; Wagner et al. 2006; Alroy et al. 2008). Given this empirical focus, it is not surprising that most of the process-oriented hypotheses and theoretical models proposed over the years represent inductive strategies—a posteriori explanations of preexisting empirical patterns. The logistic growth model (e.g., Sepkoski 1981, 1984), the unconstrained exponential model (Stanley 2007; see also Bambach 1999), rock-volume/sea level effects (e.g., Raup 1972; Peters and Foote 2001; Peters 2006), and “Pull-of-the-Recent” (e.g., Jablonski et al. 2003 …

The aim of the study is to combine and compare person-oriented and nomothetic approaches to analyze longitudinal data with time series analyses and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). Based on the evaluation of an intervention study both approaches were used to compare individual and group data. In this study, a training was implemented to foster students’ self-regulation and selected results were presented at the individual and group level for the variables planning and motivation. To analyze data with time series analysis, cross-correlations and trend analyses were conducted. Cross-correlations revealed similar results on the aggregated and individual level whereas trend analysis indicated different results of these two levels. Results of HLM analyses for longitudinal data suggested that students’ motivation has more influence than the type of training group on students’ planning. The findings demonstrate that individual and group-level results differ and that both methods have different focuses. This means that it is useful to combine time series analyses and HLM approaches when analyzing longitudinal data.

This article addresses three issues germane to experimental design and statistical analysis of intraindividual variability such as the articles contained within this special section. First, the time scale of the measurement of a process can have profound effects on the outcome of analyses of the resulting time series. Measurement in time poses special problems in the design of experiments: the time scale of the measurements must be appropriate for the time scale of the process. Second, deterministic and stochastic models should be fit at the individual level and only at a second level should individual differences in parameters be modeled. Third, one must consider the possibility that nomothetic relations may be exposed by the invariance of covariance between latent variables rather than within a factor analytic measurement model.

Embracing comparative biology, natural history encompasses those sciences that discover, decipher and classify unique (idiographic) details of landscapes, and extinct and extant biodiversity. Intrinsic to these multifarious roles in expanding and consolidating research and knowledge, natural history endows keystone support to the veracity of law-like (nomothetic) generalizations in science. What science knows about the natural world is governed by an inherent function of idiographic discovery; characteristic of natural history, this relationship is exemplified wherever an idiographic discovery overturns established wisdom. This nature of natural history explicates why inventories are of such epistemological importance. Unfortunately, a Denigration of Natural History weakens contemporary science from within. It expresses in the prevalent, pervasive failure to appreciate this pivotal role of idiographic research: a widespread disrespect for how natural history undergirds scientific knowledge. Symptoms of this Denigration of Natural History present in negative impacts on scientific research and knowledge. One symptom is the failure to appreciate and support the inventory and monitoring of biodiversity. Another resides in failures of scientiometrics to quantify how taxonomic publications sustain and improve knowledge. Their relevance in contemporary science characteristically persists and grows; so the temporal eminence of these idiographic publications extends over decades. This is because they propagate a succession of derived scientific statements, findings and/or conclusions - inherently shorter-lived, nomothetic publications. Widespread neglect of natural science collections is equally pernicious, allied with disregard for epistemological functions of specimens, whose preservation maintains the veracity of knowledge. Last, but not least, the decline in taxonomic expertise weakens research capacity; there are insufficient skills to study organismal diversity in all of its intricacies. Beyond weakening research capacities and outputs across comparative biology, this Denigration of Natural History impacts on the integrity of knowledge itself, undermining progress and pedagogy throughout science. Unprecedented advances in knowledge are set to follow on consummate inventories of biodiversity, including the protists. These opportunities challenge us to survey biodiversity representatively—detailing the natural history of species. Research strategies cannot continue to ignore arguments for such an unprecedented investment in idiographic natural history. Idiographic shortcuts to general (nomothetic) insights simply do not exist. The biodiversity sciences face a stark choice. No matter how charismatic its portrayed species, an incomplete ‘Brochure of Life’ cannot match the scientific integrity of the ‘Encyclopedia of Life’.

Successful long-term weight-loss is exceptional, even with the best dietary and psychological interventions. Nomothetic accounts of diet failure focus on cognitive processes and emotional regulation. However, qualitative research suggests that successful dieters draw on wider understandings in explaining their success; this study extends this literature to address diet failure. Individual interviews with 10 self-selected UK dieters are analysed using IPA. Understandings of diet failure are explored and situated within wider cultural discourses. Five themes are identified: ‘Dieting mode’; ‘Multime’; ‘Not me’; ‘Modern life’; and ‘Challenges of emotional and social eating’. Implications for weight-loss interventions are explored.

Although progress has been made in the treatment of childhood brain tumors,work remains to understand the complexities of disease, treatment, and contextual factors that underlie individual differences in outcome. A combination of both an idiographic approach (incorporating observations made by adult survivors of childhood brain tumors) and a nomothetic approach (reviewing the literature for brain tumor survivors as well as childhood cancer survivors) is presented. Six areas of concern are reviewed from both an idiographic and nomothetic perspective, including social/emotional adjustment, insurance, neurocognitive late effects, sexuality and relationships, employment, and where survivors accessed information about their disease and treatment and possible late effects. Guidelines to assist health care professionals working with childhood brain tumor survivors are offered with the goal of improving psychosocial and neurocognitive outcomes in this population.

This commentary looks to evaluate the opportunities that are offered by the differences between individuals and how a focus on this issue will influence the future design of all human–machine systems. It is probable that a continuing increase in computational power and associated memory storage capacities will lead to circumstances in which each and every single person can be coded as, and treated as, a separate individual and therefore not necessarily as a representative part of any group, sample or population. This ascending focus on the individual will serve to subdue the demand for nomothetic pronouncements and encourage the use of idiographic case representations. Arguably, this is a trend that is already being witnessed. A fully achieved state of this focus on the individual, or ‘individuation’ as it has been termed here, will have important impacts on research in the social, psychological and neurosciences, as well as assessment in all studies of living beings. This tide of progress may be inhibite...

This study investigates whether preschool-aged children show consistent patterns of behaviour in conflicts with their siblings. Consistency was assessed at the nomothetic (i.e., group), idiographic (i.e., individual), and idiosyncratic (i.e., consistent patterns that differed from the norm) levels. We examined conflicts between 19 2-year-old and 19 4-year-old children and their siblings. Both age groups showed consistent idiographic and nomothetic patterns of interactions. Two-year-old children used idiosyncratic patterns of responses to the conflict overtures of others (i.e., they deviated from the norm in consistent ways) while 4-year-old children did not. The variance in the responses of the younger children was greater than that found for the older children. Together these results suggest that as children mature though the preschool years their conflict patterns become more homogeneous. The importance of studying patterns in conflict at all three levels is discussed.

The interpersonal circumplex can serve as both companion and guide for those interested in exploring the interpersonal domain of personality. This article offers a relatively nontechnical overview of the model and its various applications in the study of personality. I begin by defining the interpersonal circumplex, its structure and in what sense it is 'interpersonal'. As part of that, I will briefly consider how circumplex measures of personality, such as the Interpersonal Adjective Scales, are typically evaluated for fit to the model. I will next describe applications of the model for exploring both the idiographic (person-centered) and nomothetic (variable-centered) realms of personality. In person-centered research, the circumplex leads to useful ways of summarizing the basic interpersonal features of a given individual. In variable-centered research, the circumplex can help elucidate the essential interpersonal meaning of personality constructs such as traits, problems, and motives. To explain how the circumplex can help us explore personality - idiographically and nomothetically - I will draw on a variety of studies, including several recent studies that extend the model in new ways.

This article summarizes presentations on career assessment delivered at the 2007 joint symposium of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance, Society for Vocational Psychology, and National Career Development Association. Notable among the many themes that emerged from this discussion group were the concepts of culture and assessment and the mutually beneficial outcomes of idiographic and nomothetic approaches to career assessment. Brief reviews of each presentation highlight these recurring themes. At the 2007 joint international symposium held by the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG), Society for Vocational Psychology (SVP), and National Career Development Association (NCDA), participants gathered in discussion groups to address particular themes. In Group 5, "Procedures, Suggestions, and Instruments for Assessment," participants thoughtfully discussed the issues, tensions, and best practices related to career assessment from an international perspective. This discussion group echoed some themes from the 2004 IAEVG-NCDA joint conference adeptly summarized by Watson, Duarte, and Glavin (2005), such as the issues involved in cross-cultural assessment. Given the multinational focus of this group and its presenters, this emphasis was not surprising. Capturing the range of issues raised by these eight presenters is challenging; however, the tension between nomothetic and idiographic considerations in career assessment was a shared theme in these presentations. Although every presentation contained both elements, each presentation emphasized either a nomothetic or an idiographic perspective regarding the issue of career assessment. To guide the discussion of these presentations, we have categorized each presentation as either nomothetic or idiographic, a rough categorization that frames our review of these thought-provoking offerings. Defining Nomothetic and Idiographic Perspectives We categorize each presentation as nomothetic or idiographic by its correspondence to one or the other of these two perspectives in the literature. Presentations categorized as nomothetic were those that emphasized making inferences and predictions based on groups of individuals and for which career development constructs were defined a priori and assumed to be relatively stable and consistent across cultural groups. In the process of career assessment from this perspective, a construct or domain of interest is defined and is then operationalized and measured by a given set of test items. The cultural validity of a given instrument is then established by that instrument's psychometric properties with a given population (Blustein & Ellis, 2000). These presentations emphasized a classic approach to career assessment, were framed in a positivistic or postpositivistic set of epistemological and ontological assumptions, and were generally more quantitative in nature. Generally, idiographic assessment places more emphasis on the individual. Presentations categorized as idiographic assessed career development constructs on the basis of participants' subjective constructions. These presentations emphasized a postmodern approach to career assessment, were framed in a constructivist or social constructionist set of epistemological and ontological assumptions, and were generally more qualitative in nature. In this approach, semistructured interview questions or open-ended prompts, rather than a standard set of items, are used to collaboratively assess an individual's career development and its associated influences (e.g., cultural, familial) based on that individual's subjective perspective. Rather than trying to assess more universal career development constructs across different groups, idiographic approaches emphasize understanding the "local" differences in career development in cultural groups. These presentations also emphasized the cultural and social milieu of career development both in the process of career assessment and in establishing what Leong and Brown (1995) would label the cultural specificity of assessment instruments in a given cultural context. …

In this article, we present the Integrated Self-Discrepancy Index (ISDI), a new method for measuring self-discrepancies (Higgins, 1987) that integrates idiographic and nomothetic methods to address important theoretical and methodological concerns in existing measures. In Study 1, 284 undergraduate participants completed the ISDI to measure ideal-own and ought-own self-discrepancies along with measures of dejection, agitation, cheerfulness, and quiescence. In Study 2, we used the ISDI to measure ideal and ought self-discrepancies from both own and other standpoints; 169 undergraduate participants completed measures of depressive symptoms and social anxiety approximately 1 week later. Data from both studies fully support the fundamental predictions of self-discrepancy theory: Ought self-discrepancies were uniquely related to agitation but not dejection, whereas ideal self-discrepancies were uniquely related to dejection but not agitation. In addition, comparisons to previously published data demonstrate that correlations between the ideal and ought self-discrepancies are significantly lower using the ISDI than using other measures of self-discrepancies, suggesting that the ISDI is better able to measure ideal and ought selves as distinct constructs. This measure may provide researchers with a simpler and more valid method to measure self-discrepancies, contributing to our understanding of the importance of self-discrepancies in many applied literatures.

Pain assessment and treatment is influenced by patient demographic characteristics and nonverbal expressions. Methodological challenges have limited the empirical investigation of these issues. The current analogue study employed an innovative research design and novel virtual human (VH) technology to investigate disparities in pain-related clinical decision making. Fifty-four nurses viewed vignettes consisting of a video clip of the VH patient and clinical summary information describing a post-surgical context. Participants made assessment (pain intensity and unpleasantness) and treatment (non-opioid and opioid medications) decisions on computerized visual analogue scales. VH demographic cues of sex, race, and age, as well as facial expression of pain, were systematically manipulated and hypothesized to influence decision ratings. Idiographic and nomothetic statistical analyses were conducted to test these hypotheses. Idiographic results indicated that sex, race, age, and pain expression cues accounted for significant, unique variance in decision policies among many nurses. Pain expression was the most salient cue in this context. Nomothetic results indicated differences within VH cues of interest; the size and consistency of these differences varied across policy domains. This study demonstrates the application of VH technology and lens model methodology to the study of disparities in pain-related decision making. Assessment and treatment of acute post-surgical pain often varies based on VH demographic and facial expression cues. These data contribute to the existing literature on disparities in pain practice and highlight the potential of a novel approach that may serve as a model for future investigation of these critical issues.

Experience sampling methods are essential tools for building a modern idiographic approach to understanding personality. These methods yield multiple snapshots of people's experiences over time in daily life and allow researchers to identify patterns of behavior within a given individual, rather than strictly identify patterns of behavior across individuals, as with standard nomothetic approaches. In this article, we discuss the origin and evolution of idiographic methods in the field of personality and explain how experience sampling methods function as modern day idiographic methods in this field. We then review four primary ways in which experience sampling methods have been used to foster idiographic approaches in personality research. Specifically, we highlight approaches that examine individual differences in temporal and behavioral distributions, situation-behavior contingencies, daily processes, and the structure of daily experience. Following a brief methodology primer, we end by discussing future directions for idiographic experience sampling approaches in personality psychology and beyond.

Idiographic assessment is the measurement of variables and functional relations that have been individually selected, or derived from assessment stimuli or contexts that have been individually tailored, to maximize their relevance for the particular individual. This article first reviews various definitions and clinical applications of idiographic assessment. Several properties of behavior problems and causal relations provide the conceptual basis for idiographic assessment: (a) differences across persons in the attributes, response systems, and dimensions of a behavior problem, and (b) differences across persons in the causal relations relevant to a particular behavior problem. Because of these individual differences, nomothetic measures often reflect variance that is irrelevant to the targeted construct for the individual. We present a psychometric framework for idiographic assessment by first summarizing why the psychometric principles used to develop standardized measures of nomothetic constructs can create incongruity between the nomothetic measure and the characteristics of the targeted construct for an individual. We then develop a psychometric framework for idiographic assessment that combines components of multilevel modeling (random effects) and confirmatory factor analyses applied to repeated measurements of each individual. We also provide a step-by-step guide for the development and evaluation of an idiographic assessment instrument.

The kind of science that psychoanalysis is (can be), and the kind of research appropriate to it, qualitative and/or quantitative, have been divisive issues from the very inception of the discipline. I explore in detail the complexity of these issues, definitional and semantic, as well as methodological and substantive. A plea is made for the application of qualitative (idiographic)and quantitative (nomothetic) research methods, each to the extent that is appropriate, separately or in conjunction, across the entire spectrum of research domains in psychoanalysis, empirical, clinical, conceptual, historical, and interdisciplinary.

The history of Heidegger's relationship to the neo-Kantians is still largely unwritten, despite the fact that in his formative period Heidegger was very close to the neo-Kantian school, especially Windelband and Rickert, Lask and Natorp. With regard to the concept of history and the importance of historical philosophizing, it is the received view that Dilthey was early Heidegger's main and only source of inspiration. This paper argues against this one-sided view by showing the historical and systematic connections between early Heidegger's views on history and the philosophy of history developed by Windelband and Rickert.

Poell, Rob/0000-0002-1954-3668; Wasti, S. Arzu/0000-0001-7809-5925 WOS: 000261674000002 A systematic content analysis of the human resource development (HRD) research articles published between 1990 and 2003 revealed notable differences in the underlying orientations and methodological approaches across the US and Europe. The US literature, in comparison to Europe, was observed to be more practice-oriented as reflected in a prescriptive and less critical approach to the study of human resource development (HRD). In terms of science orientation, the US literature was characterized to be more nomothetic and universalistic. While a subtle tendency towards becoming more prescriptive emerged in the US, over time the European literature had become less practice-oriented and more empiricist, although the latter trend did not reflect itself in the quantity but quality of quantitative research.

Pain assessment is subject to bias due to characteristics of the individual in pain and of the observing person. Few research studies have examined pain assessment biases in an experimental setting. The present study employs innovative virtual human technology to achieve greater experimental control. A lens model design was used to capture decision-making policies at the idiographic and nomothetic level. Seventy-five undergraduates viewed virtual humans (VH) that varied in sex, race, age, and pain expression. Participants provided computerized ratings with Visual Analogue Scales on the VH's pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, negative mood, coping, and need for medical treatment. Idiographic analyses revealed that individuals used pain expression most frequently as a significant cue. Nomothetic analyses showed that higher pain expression VH and female VH were viewed as having higher pain intensity, higher pain unpleasantness, greater negative mood, worse coping, and a greater need to seek medical treatment than lower pain expression VH and male VH, respectively. Older VH were viewed as having worse coping and a greater need to seek medical treatment than younger VH. This innovative paradigm involving VH technology and a lens model design was shown to be highly effective and could serve as a model for future studies investigating pain-related decision making in healthcare providers.

Much variability in social behavior is intra-individual; people vary their actions strategically across contexts. Yet most personality assessment methods are inter-individual; they chart between-person differences in average behavioral tendencies. The present research advanced novel idiographic assessment methods to predict intra-individual variability in a behavioral domain of long-standing interest to personality psychologists: humor. Individuals participated in three assessment sessions. Personal beliefs about reasons for using humor were assessed either idiographically or with respect to a nomothetic system of humor-related reasons for action. The subjective relevance of nomothetically- and idiographically-identified reasons to everyday social situations was assessed. Subsequently, participants reported their perceived likelihood of using humor in specific social contexts. As predicted, likelihood of humor use varied substantially as a function of the relevance of situations to idiographically-identified reasons, but did not vary as a function of the relevance of situations to reasons identified nomothetically. Implications for personality and assessment are discussed.

This special issue should go a long way towards increasing the understanding of Peirce’s semeiotic and its applicability for solving problems in legal studies. In fact, the New Science of Semiotics should result in developing a rigorous and systematic methodology for legal studies making it a true semiotic science which I suggest calling “jurisology.”