The Idiographic Science proposal. Discussion of theoretical, epistemological and methodological assumptions of a possible idiographic approach in psychology

Journal title RICERCHE DI PSICOLOGIA
Author/s Raffaele De Luca Picione
Publishing Year 2020 Issue 2020/2
Language Italian Pages 44 P. 389-432 File size 436 KB
DOI 10.3280/RIP2020-002001
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The paper presents how a possible renewal of the idiographic approach is based no more on the classic distinction between the "particular" and the "uni-versal" (historical prerogative of the nomothetic approach), but on the possibility of creating new knowledge through different forms of generalization from the single case. The single case maintains great interest in the study and research of psychological phenomena, by virtue of inherent contextuality, contingency, tem-poral variability and situativity of every human phenomenon. Following these considerations, an idiographic approach is presented by means of: a) the re-foundation of its theoretical, epistemological and methodological assumptions, including the re-conceptualization of some obsolete theoretical oppositions; b) aspects of epistemological weakness of the use of the sample in the psychologi-cal disciplines; c) the close relationship between uniqueness and the general; d) the process of abductive generalization; e) the circular relationship between theo-ry and phenomena; f) the reconsideration of the process of validation of research.

Keywords: idiography; psychological research; abduction; semiotics; contex-tual-dynamic mind model

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Raffaele De Luca Picione, La proposta dell’Idiographic Science. Discussione degli assunti teorici, epistemologici e metodologici di un possibile approccio idiografico in psicologia in "RICERCHE DI PSICOLOGIA " 2/2020, pp 389-432, DOI: 10.3280/RIP2020-002001