Significant samples: The psychological study of eminent individuals

Psychologists occasionally study eminent individuals, such as Nobel laureat es, U.S. presidents, Olympic athletes, chess grandmasters, movie stars, and even distinguished psychologists. Studies using such significant samples m ay be differentiated along 7 distinct dimensions: qualitative versus quanti tative, single versus multiple case, nomothetic versus idiographic, confirm atory versus exploratory, cross-sectional versus longitudinal, micro versus macro analytical units, and direct versus indirect assessments. However, t he vast majority of psychological inquiries may be clustered into just 4 ty pes: historiometric, psychometric, psychobiographical, and comparative. Aft er presenting the intrinsic and extrinsic justifications for studying famou s 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.