Significant Samples: The Psychological Study of Eminent Individuals

Psychologists occasionally study eminent individuals, such as Nobellaureates, U.S. presidents, Olympic athletes, chess grandmasters, movie stars, and even distinguished psychologists. Studies using such significant samples may be differentiated along 7 distinct dimensions: qualitative versus quantit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPsychological methods Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 425 - 451
Main Author Simonton, Dean Keith
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published American Psychological Association 01.12.1999
Subjects
Comparative Analysis
Gifted
Measurement
Psychological Studies
Research Methodology
Sampling
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Summary:Psychologists occasionally study eminent individuals, such as Nobellaureates, U.S. presidents, Olympic athletes, chess grandmasters, movie stars, and even distinguished psychologists. Studies using such significant samples may be differentiated along 7 distinct dimensions: qualitative versus quantitative, single versus multiple case, nomothetic versus idiographic, confirmatory versus exploratory, cross-sectional versus longitudinal, micro versus macroanalytical units, and direct versus indirect assessments.However, the vast majority of psychological inquiries may be clustered into just 4 types: historiometric, psychometric, psychobiographical, and comparative. After presenting the intrinsic and extrinsic justifications for studying famous persons, the main methodological issues concerning sampling, measurement, and analysis are discussed. The future prospects of significant samples in psychological research are then briefly examined. (Contains 1 table and 2 footnotes.)
ISSN:1082-989X
DOI:10.1037/1082-989X.4.4.425