Incremental Analysis Essay Example for Free

Incremental Analysis Essay Incremental in comprehensive analyses both serve similar purposes in decision making in the workplace. The argument is that incremental is more economical than and just as effective as comprehensive analyses. Since both are used to make important decisions within a company, which one will serve the best purpose while still being justifiable and cost effective to complete? Both will complete the same task, but one will do it better and we will be explaining why incremental analyses are the better ones to use. Incremental Analysis Incremental analysis is important and standardized approach to determine various business decisions concerning cost and revenue. This tool is very crucial and time saving; it leads in a systematic way to identify the probable effects of decisions on future earnings in order to make better decisions concerning the profitability of the company. Management utilizes incremental analysis to identify relevant information related to costs and revenues associated and impacted by the decision; this information is further compared to make the most profitable decision. Examples of decisions best made through incremental analysis include – whether to accept an order at special price, make-or-buy, sell or process further, retain or replace equipment, eliminate an unprofitable segment decision and allocate limited resources, and decisions (Kimmel et.al, 2011). Comprehensive Analysis Comprehensive analysis is the financial term used for evaluating every financial detail of the entire operation in a company. The purpose of conducting comprehensive analysis is to determine a company’s present financial position as well as its expected financial standing in the future. In conducting comprehensive analysis, both current and historical fiscal reports must be collected to analyze the status of the company’s investments. These reports are also needed to calculate the financial ratios of different companies. Determining the financial ratios is the next step when conducting comprehensive analysis as these ratios will determine the company’s performance and its effectiveness. The ratios will give a snap shot of the company’s overall financial condition, strengths and weaknesses of its financial activities which will help creditors and investors decide  whether company is worth investing in. And finally, compare the company’s ratio, to the ratio of another organization with similar production processes to determine if the company will succeed or needs enhancement. Disagree/ or Agree According to our research we have come to an agreement that Incremental Analysis is the best decision and focus tool that we have. The reasoning is because it reveals faster results and cost less. Another two are when reports are shown and analysis are done it reveals the same results. It also focus on a specific subject or topic. Incremental analysis also pulls reports and help management make decisions whether to accept orders, to make a product or purchase, sell and process products furthers, or even the retaining and replacement of equipment that are used by the business. References JIm, B., Hughes, M.C. (2014, April). What is comprehensive analysis. Wise Geek, (). Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-comprehensive-analysis.htm Virtual Advisors Inc. (2011) Analyzing your financial ratios retrieved from http://www.bbt.com/bbtdotcom/business/small-business-resource-center/growing-a-business/financial-ratios.page

The integration process of immigrants in Spain

The integration process of immigrants in Spain Immigration Spain Emigration A social analysis of the integration process of immigrants in Spain. The way in which ‘the problem’ of immigration in Spain affects the integration of immigrants. Over the last fifteen years, Spain has gone from being a country of emigration to a country of immigration. In recent years few European countries have experienced as dramatic a rise in immigration as Spain. Spain has been among the most open countries in the European Union, admitting 650,000 immigrants last year alone and granting residency permits to 560,000 more who were in the country illegally. Although the percentage of immigrants is still relatively low compared to other European countries (6.1% of the population in 2005) the growth of immigration experienced over the last five years has led experts to consider the country as a â€Å"new immigration centre.† The economic and historical connections with North Africa and South America have been the principal triggers of immigration flows, with almost 2/3 of immigrants coming from outside the EU. Europeans also represent a large number of immigrants in Spain. Attracted to the Costa del Sol’s climate and low cost of living, many come to retire. There are three basic causes for this substantial change in the position of Spain as a new centre of immigration. The first is the continuous economic development of the country and the fact that it belongs to one of the most developed regions in the world, the EU. Secondly, Spain is considered as an alternative to other European countries with high levels of immigration where there now exist increasingly strong restrictions on immigration, especially those originating from outside Europe. Thirdly, Spain’s geographical situation means that it has become the ‘back door’ for immigrants’ intent on reaching the rest of Europe. The significant increase of the foreign population since 2000 has resulted in a growing awareness that immigration is a structural phenomenon and Spain: a multicultural country. Recent Spanish opinion polls reveal the distortion between the reality and nationals’ perception of the extent of this immigration. In the book ‘Europeos e Inmigrantes,’ the authors study local’s opinion on immigration and conclude with the following results: approximately 55% of Spanish society perceive Spain as having ‘a lot’ of immigrants- though not too many- and 25% of them consider the number of immigrants to be too high. The number of immigrants, but more specific still the presence of immigrants, is suggested to be a ‘problem.’ This study will be looking at the perception of immigration as a ‘problem,’ and the consequence of this perception on the integration of immigrants in Spain. I am interested in the integration of immigrants on a social level: the ways in which social constructions of the ‘other’ are reflected in the social integration process of the immigrant population. In the end, I hope to make sense not just of immigrants’ marginal status in Spain; but also how the concept of culture and society shapes the integration process. Despite common belief that Spain is being met by an invasion of newcomers, the percentage of immigrants to the total national population remains the lowest within the EU. By 2001, immigrants in Spain made up 2.5% of the population, contrasted with 4.2% for the UK, 4.3 for the Netherlands, 5.6 for France, and 8.9 for Germany. Overall, the European average is three times higher than the Spanish average. Despite the fact that illegal immigrants are seen as a threat to the growing population, illegal entrance into Spain counts for only 4% of the immigrants entering legally. Yet today, immigration is among the top three mentioned problems and has been referred to as a cultural problem. The media has had, and continues to have, a great influence on the nation’s interpretation of immigration and the prominence of immigration in national politics and people’s consciousness reflects the extent to which the subject of immigration is covered by Spanish media. No other medium is able to send a determined message out to the masses, or has so much power as to make everyone value their freedom of speech. Those who have studied ‘public opinion’ have said, â€Å"Although people think they have formulated their own opinion, in actual fact their opinion and argument is more or less echoed from a favoured political leader or party.† National newspapers go as far as to include a section on ‘the immigration problem’ aimed at keeping track of the number of illegal immigrants apprehended by the police. The Spanish newspaper, ‘El Paà ­s’ uses headlines such as: ‘Interceptados 76 inmigrantes en las costas de Granada y Canarias en las à ºltimas horas, and frequently describes the arrival of ‘nueva oleadas de pateras que intentan alcanzar Espaà ±a. On television, the Spanish public are supplied with regular images of illegal immigrants attempting to enter the country illegally. The constant focus on immigration in political discourse and in the mass media has created a sense of migratory pressure amongst the public, a sense that there are floods of people banging on the border doors to get in. â€Å"Las puertas de Europa Espaà ±a y nueve paà ­ses europeos han acordado establecer un operativo para patrullar toda la zona del à frica atlà ¡ntica susceptible de ser punto de origen de pateras y cayucos que viajan hacia Europa y, sobre todo, hacia Canarias, que acusa casi cada dà ­a la presià ³n de esta avalancha migratoria.† This pressure is fuelled by both a fear of security and a fear of immigrants affecting the Spanish labour market (which I will discuss later on). This fear is often translated into panic and irrational conclusions for those ignorant of the reality of the situation. Evidence of illegal immigrants in Spain has created confusion between attitudes towards illegal and legal immigrants, and often the two groups are treated as one. Following the 9/11 tragedy, race stereotypes have once again become commonplace and through pure ignorance and fear, immigrants are seen as a threat to the public’s safety, often being associated with Islamic fundamentalism. Public insecurity due to misinformation has manifested itself in violence and xenophobic feelings against the immigrants. An example of this took place in 2000, in El Ejido (Andalucia), where locals violently attacked newly settled immigrants, following a young girl’s murder by a Moroccan. The dissemination of these negative perceptions has helped conjure up a sensation of invasion, which does not mirror the reality of the situation. The reality of the situation (which I have already discussed) is that this existing fear is unjustified. It is a representation of the ignorance surrounding the perception of immigration linking the race of an immigrant group with the safety of a country. Immigration has also been considered a threat to the structure of the labour market. During the 1980s and 1990s, when immigration to Spain was at its highest, the country was experiencing a profound economic crisis characterized above all by high levels of unemployment. The presence of immigrants and the misconception that they were invading the Spanish labour market, added further tension to the relationship between the two groups, and was therefore considered an economic and social problem. â€Å"More than any other factor, unemployment is generally seen as the root cause behind the electoral successes of the radical Right across Europe and is credited with casing an existence of a negative, anti immigrant attitude in Spain.† Immigration in Spain has also been treated as a cultural problem â€Å"where the idea of having immigrants in the country is not perceived as a positive multicultural phenomenon but as a threat to the integrity of the Spanish cultural identity.† The Spanish fear that the increasing presence of other national cultures will overshadow and stifle their own traditions. The immigrants have brought their own culture to Spain, which they expect to be respected and recognised so that they may practice their traditions in harmony with the rest of society. Spaniards fear that the integration of immigrants will entail the growth of alien religious infrastructures and more conflict between locals and immigrants. The social integration of Muslims in particular is perceived as difficult, because of the demands for their own religious infrastructure. The constructions of mosques render the development of a multicultural society even more obvious. Since the terrorist attacks in Madrid 2004, Islam has been presented as an alien civilization, with mosques feared as centres of terrorism. This fear often translates into irrational conclusions. â€Å"As it generally does in other European countries, the association of North Africans with Islamic fundamentalism, terrorism and crime tends to breed hostility and suspicion from the Spanish public.† In summary, the immigration problem revolves around an insecurity bred by the sense of invasion. People feel threatened by the implications of immigrants in the labour market, and what ‘integration’ really entails for the culture and society dynamics of Spain. I am now going to address the concept of integration and how the perception of immigration already discussed has affected this process. In order to assess how this is affecting the integration process I will be looking at the topic from an anthropological perspective. Among those who attempt to define the concept of integration, there is considerable disagreement. In the context of Spanish immigration it has taken on many meanings, some implying that it is reached when the immigrant is able to ‘fit in,’ others suggesting that it hinges on natives’ open-mindedness and tolerance, and still others prioritising the accessibility of social services and basic necessities. Often, the term is simply used as a synonym for settlement, or establishing physical and social roots. A Spanish social scientist and immigration expert defines it this way: ‘We can say that immigrants are integrated into a host society when they do not face additional obstacles due to their foreign origin in the main aspects of their social, economic, and family life, when compared to the native-born population.’ Law plays a central role in the immigrants’ integration on all levels and has been seen as â€Å"formally codifying them as different at several levels.† Spain had several attempts at immigration legalisation: the first, ‘the Ley de Extranjeria,’ focussing primarily on control over immigrants rather than integration. Immigration laws designated some people as non-citizens with a limited set of rights and privileges. Others were declared to be illegal and unwelcome altogether and those who did achieve legal status found their position unstable, as they are vulnerable to frequent changes in legislation and status. When in 1998 the issue of integration was finally addressed, the focus was still on the integration of ‘non-EU foreigners’ rather than the immigrant group as a whole, stigmatising the non-EU immigrants as the problem group. Perez, in his article, â€Å"Spain: Forging an Immigration Policy,† goes as far as to say that the ‘Law on the rights and Freedoms of Foreigners in Spain and their Integration’ passed in January 2000, was not so much ‘because of the law’s acknowledgement of immigrant rights but because of its conception of immigration as a permanent phenomenon.’ Still today immigrants struggle against policy restrictions. Despite the common belief that immigrants create problems in the Spanish labour market, the reality of the situation is that the immigrant work force is largely responsible for Spain’s economic growth. This growth, over the last decade, has been among the fastest in the EU. â€Å"It is not a coincidence that the strong economic growth and increase in employment rate has increased with the arrival of immigrants into Spain.† Having said this, statistics show that in 2006 the unemployment rate for Spaniards was 8% compared to 12% for foreigners. The lack of facilities for Spanish employers to contract foreigners and the difficulty such employers face accessing Spanish labour has resulted in irregular immigration flows and labour markets. In addition to the disparity between the unemployment rates for Spanish and Immigrant workers, there is also a difference in the nature of work. The restructuring of the Spanish economy after the accession to the European Community has resulted in an increase in the demand for labour in sectors of the economy where nationals no longer wish to work. Spanish laws make it virtually impossible to gain admission as legal residents outside of the quota system that is largely confined to those willing to work in agriculture, domestic help, and construction, i.e. those sectors where wages and working conditions are inadequate to attract sufficient local workers. These laws thus guarantee that immigrant workers labour under conditions that are shunned by most of the working class, an arrangement that furthermore highlights their economic alienation and their exclusion from reasonable housing, health care and other basic necessities further distancing there chances on reaching integration. Furthermore, there is little stability for immigrants in the labour market with most of them receiving only temporal jobs. There is also a significant difference in wages. It has been noted that non-communitarians earn 33% less than Spanish citizens. These forms of discrimination have resulted in the exploitation of undocumented workers: considerably lower payments, a lack of safety standards, labour security and worker rights. One of the main problems with the way in which immigration is perceived in Spain is that not much is known about the immigrant as an individual. Because of this lack of knowledge, realities are distorted and often the outsider is assumed to be the culprit for society’s ills. â€Å"In endeavouring to reduce environmental complexity to a manageable size, when bombarded with environmental stimuli, untested cognitive short-cuts come to be employed which have a tendency to become self fulfilling.† In order for immigration to be perceived accurately by any social group there must be a basis of knowledge; not hearsay. As most of the media coverage on the immigrant population relates to violence and delinquency, it is understandable why the average Spaniard, adopts a defensive stance. To gain an accurate, or at least fair representation of the immigrant population, these negative portrayals ought to be contested with representations from the minority groups. A lack of organisation and funds are said to explain the lack of minority media produced in Spain. Whether this is the case, or whether the lack of initiative to produce a platform for the minority groups to speak out from is the manifestation of another social inequality. The danger of a ‘general’ perception of the immigrant group is that incorrect assumptions are made and stereotypes formed. Generalisations on immigrants’ nationalities create a belief that each nation has one culture shared by all inhabitants. Similar generalisations are made towards the second generation of immigrants. The children of the immigrants, who have never immigrated, and who were born in Spain are assumed to be of foreign origin. These stereotypes also include the concept that others’ cultural traits are strange and not worthy of exploring because they are not necessary to the already comfortable, established concepts that the society possesses. The cultural traits that cause the most ‘problems’ are those most different, usually those from non-European countries. This is because, in everyday life, they are the most conspicuous (with regards to the fact that in Spain the colour of one’s skin is still associated with being ‘foreign’) reminding nationals that Spain is becoming a multicultural country. Spanish researcher and anthropologist, Damian Omar Martinez, explores the concept that on a social level, non- European immigrants are discriminated against more because they are considered further away from integration: the integration that sees immigrants conforming to the Spanish way of life. With the transformation of the European Union, the free movement of Europeans between borders means that to a certain extent relationships between different European cultures are less tense. European citizens are increasingly viewed as being part of a European community. The borders between themselves and ‘the others’ have almost been extended up to the exterior borders of Europe. McGrance argues that there is a distinct Western thought process. He argues that: ‘there is the superior Western culture, and then there are all the rest as contrast. A sharp divide is created, with epistemological privilege always on the side of the West. With these analyses in mind, one realises the extent of the difficulties immigrants face in becoming integrated into Spanish society. Adding to the discussion on integration and what impedes this process for immigrants, I am interested in how a national population is able to control a minority population. When talking of integration, it is impossible to say when an immigrant is fully integrated as an essential part of this process is determined by non- controllable factors such as the native population’s response. It seems the first step to any kind of integration for minority groups (the immigrants), is acceptance from the majority (the nationals). However, when integration can be defined as a concept that calls for the absence of racism and tolerance for minority groups, the question is raised as to whether it is integration we are talking about or tolerance. Is the immigration in Spain a case of ‘integrating’ immigrants or merely ‘tolerating’ them? If it is a case of tolerating immigrants, there is little hope of integration for immigrants on a social level. This brings me onto the concepts of ‘society’ and ‘community,’ which seem to influence the process of integration of immigrants. Calavita writes that the concept of culture and community is difficult to define. She quotes Walzer’s attempt at defining the term: â€Å" that at a minimum a community consists of like-minded members, with some special commitment to one another and some special sense of their common life.† The term community deals with the concept of belonging and not belonging: the member whom is accepted and part of something, and the outsider whom is striving to be part of something that is not necessarily clear. The Europe we see developing today is a prime example of a ‘community’ of nations pushing for one identity. Cris Shore explores the idea that this very existing identity is one of the main culprits for the problem of integration of immigrant. â€Å"Identity is represented as a process of classification involving boundaries of inclusion and exclusion.† Shore goes on further to explore the terms European and non- European. Though there is no official definition for these terms, ‘ a more coherent applied definition can be seen emerging at the borders and boundaries of the new Europe.’ With the distinction of European and non-European groups becoming clear, so to is the distinction between the insider and the outsider. These terms are used to reiterate the fact that the immigrant is from outside, it is used to make the distinction between the group of ‘Us’ (national population) and ‘Them’ (the immigrant), and it has been used by Spaniards to remind themselves of what they are not. One must ask to what extent the integration of immigrants is a process of selection, and to what extent the national population influences this process. Nowadays the significance and relevance of being a member of a community has been devalued somewhat, as it is increasingly difficult to define this term. Calavita quotes Bauman and others as arguing, â€Å"that this kind of community is on the decline, as globalisation, with its collapsing cultural boundaries, and the diminishing significance of the nation-state, erodes its boundaries and disintegrates its ties, leaving little structure to the foundations of this group.† ‘The diminishing significance of the nation state’ refers to the developing ‘European identity’ the EU are pushing for today. This united centre requires the breaking down of national barriers to ensure full communication between nations in an effort for them to work together and be successful as one. Arguments put forward suggesting immigration is a ‘cultural problem’ because of its effect on the authenticity of Spanish culture, are unsound, as the very Europe that Spain forms part of, is doing just that. Considering immigration as a ‘problem,’ has severely affected the process of integration of immigrants in Spain. The real concern lies in the general public’s perception of immigrants. The strength of a nation’s perception is based on a sentiment cultivated over many years; can this national sentiment towards immigration be changed? It does not make sense to see a city or country as an integrated body of citizens, a group you can enter once you have completed cultural, economic requirements. It is the discussion of immigration as a problem, and the questioning of whether immigrants integrate or not that creates the phenomenon of immigration and puts such pressure on the social groups involved to form a position on the issue. When analysing the immigration issue in Spain, it should not be the question of whether the immigrants are a problem, or whether they are integrated or not, but what there role is in society.

Mirror for Man - People are the way that they are Raised :: Mirror for Man Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kluckhohn explained the differences and similarities among the world's peoples by taking different life examples of different cultured people and compared them to another person who was raised up in a different lifestyle. At first, he brought up several questions, asking why certain people do or don't do certain things. These questions were served as guides, which led on to the examples. They also served as attraction to the readers who are curious about different people from another culture. Then he went on to compare people from different cultures in his examples. He compared an American woman, who restricts her husband to only one mate, with a Koryak woman, who shares her husband with another woman; an American raised in China with the Americans raised here in the United States; and lastly, he compared people's reactions from eating the meat of chicken or tuna fish to that of a rattlesnake. Kluckhohn has a strong point in viewing human's culture. I agree with his definition of culture -- "the part of the environment that is the creation of human beings." People react to things differently because they were raised up in different environments with different cultures. No matter who the person is, or where he (or she) was born, his behavior and his personality traits developments would depend on the environment that he is living in. The way people think, feel, react, and behave also are depended upon life experiences. They feel different emotions because they have felt this emotional happiness or sadness before. They think what is right and what is wrong because they have learned from past experiences. They react to different things because they experienced things that please them and the things that displease them. They behave in certain ways because they want to design their way of living into what they have admired from other people's lives. I was born in Hong Kong, the school systems and the people living there are very strict in comparing with the United States. Over in Hong Kong, students go to school for seven hours and then they would go home and spend another seven or eight hours on homework. The school system really forces you to study and do your homework to stay up with the rest of the class. But yet, the students would accept the homework assignments without complaining because they are use to doing so much homework and taking the pressure.

Slaughterhouse Five: Billy Pilgrim and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) :: Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut

Within the novel Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, the character Billy Pilgrim claims to have come â€Å"unstuck† in time. Having survived through being a Prisoner of War and the destruction of Dresden during World War II, and having been a prisoner used to clear away debris of the destruction, there can be little doubt that Pilgrim’s mental state was unstable. Furthermore, it may be concluded that Pilgrim, due to the effects of having been a Prisoner of War, and having been witness to the full magnitude of destruction, suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which caused him to review the events over and over during the course of his life. In order to understand how these factors, the destruction of Dresden and ‘PTSD’, came to make Billy Pilgrim â€Å"unstuck† in time, one must review over the circumstances surrounding those events. The human mind is a part of the body which current science knows little about. Trigger mechanisms, and other factors within the brain are relatively unknown to current humanity. Therefore, in order to produce a diagnostic on why Billy Pilgrim became â€Å"unstuck† in time, the reader of Slaughterhouse Five must come to terms with situations concerning the experiences described in the novel. Billy Pilgrim starts out, chronologically, as a fairly basic infantryman in the United States Army during the last Nazi offensive of the war, also known as the Battle of the Bulge (Vonnegut, 32). That battle resulted in fierce fighting, and also in massacres (such as the one that occurred near Malmedy, France), and the reader may be sure that there were men who became mentally unsound due to the effects of what they experienced there. Pilgrim is taken in by a group of soldiers who have found themselves behind the Nazi lines and are required to travel, by foot, back to friendly lines (V onnegut, 32). According to what research exists, severe hardship such as would exist on that journey could be enough to bring about a case of Acute Stress Disorder, but this combined with what followed afterward is certainly enough to bring about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (National Institute of Mental Health, Symptoms of PTSD). Again, look towards the following: during the trek Billy Pilgrim doesn’t move as quickly as the other soldiers desire to move, and so he is often lagging behind, and often the subject of scorn.

Free Essay on Homers Odyssey: Order vs. Chaos :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Order vs. Chaos in The Odyssey In The Odyssey, Homer portrays the reoccurring theme of order versus chaos. This theme is particularly evident within the first twelve books of The Odyssey. Homer shows the importance of instilling order where there is chaos or confusion. To eliominate chaos and regain order, a strong hero is needed along with the intelligence to find a solution to the problem. In the first twelve books of The Odyssey Homer shows the need for a cunning hero in order to restore peace where there is chaos through the suitors, the storm off the coast of Scheria, the Kyklopes, and Scylla and Charybdis. The first and most evident example of chaos in The Odyssey is the presence of the suitors. Since Odysseus never returned form the Trojan War, many suitors who sought to marry Odysseus' wife, Penelope, were disrespecting Odysseus' house. The house was filled with the chaos that the suitors caused. They were there for so long because Penelope was resistant to remarry. While they were there, they continued to consume all of Odysseus' possessions. His wife is besieged with suitors and his entire house is threatening to fall. With the absence of their king, Odysseus, in Ithica his house was being overrun by the greedy suitors. Although order is no restored in Ithica until the end of Odysseus' journey, it is hinted at what is needed to end the confusion within the first four books, or the Telemacheia. Since Telemakhos is still too young and not fully matured enough to restore order in his father's house, it will take Odysseus' return. Even the goddess Athena recognize s the need for Odysseus' warrior strength and intelligence when she says, " bitterly you need Odysseus, then! High time he came back to engage these upstarts. I wish we saw him standing helmeted there in the doorway, holding shield and spear, looking the way he did when I first knew him. (The Odyssey, Homer, Robert Fitzgerald's translation, pp. 9)∝ The rest of the books in this section are dedicated to Odysseus' journey home so that he can restore order to his homeland and be with Penelope. Homer also shows that a cunning hero is needed when faced with chaos in the episode where Odysseus is stuck in a storm off the coast of Scheria.

A Balance Between Nomothetic and Idiographic Approaches Essay

The idiographic and nomothetic approaches in psychology are often regarded as representing opposing and conflicting positions about how best to study people, especially intelligence and personality. However, the two may be seen as complementary, with both necessary to gain a fuller understanding of human beings. The idiographic approach focuses on: ‘the individual and recognises the uniqueness of the person in terms of their experiences, feelings, developmental history, aspirations and motivations in life, and the values and moral codes by which they live’. The word idiograph comes from the Greek word idios, meaning ‘own’ or ‘private’. Hence the idiographic approach in psychology is concerned with the private, subjective and unique aspects of a person and employs methods of inquiry which provide information about subjective experiences. The idiographic approach is characterised by qualitative methods of investigation. Qualitative methods include unstructured interviews, case studies, self report measures, introspection, and the psychoanalytic techniques of free association and dream analysis. The idiographic approaches is holistic and places great value on the individual’s conscious experiences. The humanistic perspective in psychology perhaps best exemplifies the idiographic approach. Freudian psychoanalysis can also be said to adopt an idiographic approach as he did not use any scientific method to test or find evidence for his theoretical claims. Approach The nomothetic approach in psychology focuses on: ‘similarities between people and attempts to establish general laws of behaviour and thought that can be applied to large populations of people, or indeed to all people’ The word nomothetic comes from Greek words nomos, meaning ‘law’. Hence, the nomothetic approach is most closely aligned with the scientific approaches in psychology. This means that it uses scientific methods of investigation, particularly experiments, to test hypotheses that are derived from theories about human behaviour and thought. The nomothetic approach adopts a reductionist viewpoint, placing great value on objectivity and replication. The behaviourist, cognitive ad biological perspectives best exemplify the nomothetic approach. Freudian theory also attempts to establish laws or rules about human beings, for example the psychosexual stages and the Oedipus complex. Freud believed these were applicable to all and the theory is nomothetic in this respect. Background Humanistic psychology adopt a more idiographic approach, seeking the more unique aspects of individuals, rather than producing generalised laws of behaviour that apply to everyone. It highlighted the value of more individualistic and idiographic methods of study, particularly in areas of personality and abnormalities. Classification manuals like the DSM-IV, which lists the essential behavioural criteria of diagnosing autism, adopts a nomothetic approach and classify people according to particular type of disorders. Traditionally, the idiographic and nomothetic approaches are seen as conflicting, with the implication that as a psychologist you can only operate from one of these positions. Cronbach (1957) identified this potential source of conflict between psychologists about how best to study the nature of what it is to be human. If the psychologist seeks to develop theories that apply to large populations then the nomothetic approach is preferable. If, however, the psychologist is interested in the uniqueness of a person, then the idiographic approach is the one to adopt. Subjective experience The idiographic approach is often regarded as non-scientific, as subjective experience cannot be empirically tested and it is difficult to generalise from detailed subjective knowledge about a person. Some psychologists argue that scientific principles can be applied to study the uniqueness of individuals and the norms and rules by which a specific person operates can be identified. The idiographic approach can be used to study topics such as privation which are relatively rare and depends upon the circumstances surrounding the individual. Most evidence for effects of privation has come from case studies of children who have been raised in conditions of neglect. The case of Genie (Curtiss, 1977) suggests that severe privation has permanent effects. At the age of 13 years she was unable to speak, physically underdeveloped and showed inappropriate emotional responses. Despite fostering and intellectual stimulation, Genie apparently never recovered from her years of privation, although there was a suggestion that other factors may have contributed to her problems. Koluchova’s longitudinal study followed the long-term development of twin boys who had suffered severe privation in early childhood showed that children who have experienced severe privation seem able to overcome the effects of their early suffering with appropriate treatment and care. As such the nomothetic approach would be unsuitable and unable to gather any information which would contribute towards our understanding of the topic. The two approaches can be complementary as the idiographic approach can shed further light on a general law of behaviour established through a nomothetic approach. Idiographic research may disprove a general law of behaviour. For example nomothetic research supported the idea of a multi-store model of memory with information flowing through the STM to LTM. However case studies of patients with brain damage suggest that the multi-store model is over-simplified. A patient known as KF suffered brain damage following a motorcycle accident, and underwent brain surgery. Some years later he was found to have normal LTM storage but an STM capacity of only two items. If STM was necessary for the transfer of information to LTM, then KF’s LTM should also be affected. As a consequence, further models of memory have been proposed and tested. On the other hand, idiographic findings can lead to large scale research. Piaget used the idiographic approach gaining rich and detailed information about the development of his own children’s thinking. These finding inspired further nomothetic research and theories into cognitive development were developed. Scientific approach Both approaches can contribute to the scientific approach – the aim of science are to â€Å"understand and describe† which corresponds to the idiographic approach and to â€Å"predict and control† which corresponds to the nomothetic approach. The nomothetic approach generalise findings e. g. in terms of the primacy and recency effects, more words are recalled from the beginning and the end of the list, irrespective of the length of the list. However an idiographic approach could be used to find the different techniques that people have used to recall the items In contemporary psychology, the idiographic-nomothetic debate is still an important distinction. Attempts have been made to bring the two approaches together in an interactionist model (Bandura, 1986), but no influential solution has been found. It could be argued that the strengths of one approach compensate for the limitations of the other and so both approaches are needed for a complete study of psychology. The nomothetic approach has helped psychology to become scientific by developing laws and theories of human behaviour that can be empirically tested. This approach attempts to determine laws and common characteristics for all people or large groups of people in a culture. It also helps to combine biological and social aspects of a person. However, the focus on general laws and theories neglects the subjective and unique experiences of the person. The extensive use of controlled laboratory experiment means that there is a problem of generalisation to everyday life. Some psychologists also argued that this approach overemphasises the similarities between people and gives little attention to differences. Alternatively, the idiographic approach focuses on the subjective experiences of the person making the individual feeling valued and unique. Each person is valued as an individual rather than seen as one amongst many. Conclusion This approach provides detailed psychohistories and attempts to understand the many influences on how they come to be as they are. Humanistic psychology uses an idiographic approach to enable people to develop their full potential. However, this approach largely neglects biological, especially genetic influences.

Family Identity Essay

A person’s identity is often considered a trait that someone is born with, similar to physical traits such as eye color or face shape. In actuality, identity is not something that can be determined by a particular strand of DNA, rather it is something that must be formed throughout a lifetime. Thus, at birth, one’s identity is a blank canvas, ready to absorb knowledge from its immediate surroundings, more particularly family, as it is the first thing a fresh identity is exposed to. As evidenced by Grapes of Wrath, Abraham Lincoln, and The Great Gatsby, one’s identity is primarily determined by his or her family. In Grapes of Wrath, the Joad’s identify themselves with their land, as farming is their only livelihood. Without land to farm, the Joads’s way of life is entirely uprooted; thus, they are forced to change their identities in order to survive. However, this identification with the land is not something each Joad is born with; rather, it is a relationship that is primarily influenced by family. Initially, Ruthie and Winifield, both still young children, do not understand the emotional impact of the Dustbowl on their family. However, as they watch their father, they begin to understand that his land is what makes him who he is, and without it, he is lost. At this point, Ruthie and Winifield’s new identities are starting to take shape as they, too, learn to love the land. Abraham Lincoln, a former president of the United States, grew up in a small cabin to a poor family. He was able to attend school as a young boy; however, the educational system of his rural town in Kentucky put him at a disadvantage to many other politicians he competed against. When Lincoln’s mother passed, he was left to be raised by only his father, whom he gradually became estranged from. However, these disadvantages that Lincoln faced made him the self-motivated and ambitious man he soon became. Had he been raised in a well-to-do family by attentive and loving parents, he would not have been nearly as driven and hardworking, as everything would have been spoon-fed to him. Thus, Lincoln’s family life was the one thing ultimately determined the man he was to become. Lincoln’s absentee father and poor economic situation gave him the will and ambition that allowed him o do great things in the world. In The Great Gatsby, in contrast to Abraham Lincoln, Daisy was born into an extremely wealthy family. In such a family, Daisy hardly ever had the need to lift a finger, as everything was done for her. In addition, this wealth made Daisy a very desirable young woman; thus, Daisy did not often have to work to gain anyone’s approval. Had she been raised in poor family, similar to Abraham Lincoln, Daisy would have been forced to sink or swim on her own, giving her more ambition to succeed. However, due to Daisy’s family life, she grew accustomed to a pampered life lifestyle in which everything was simply handed to her, making her the self-obsessed, materialistic, and lazy person she became. As evidenced by Grapes of Wrath, Abraham Lincoln, and The Great Gatsby, family is what primarily determines someone’s identity. Thus, identity is not some gene-determined trait that is formed prior to birth. It is something that takes shape in the early stages of one’s life, forming accordingly to his or her environment.