No, interpretivism and naturalism are not the same. Interpretivism is a research approach that focuses on understanding human behavior through the interpretation of meanings, while naturalism is a philosophical perspective that sees the world as governed by natural laws and phenomena, without supernatural intervention.

main advantage of a positivist

Interpretivism focuses on understanding individual subjective experiences and meanings, while mainstream psychology often emphasizes objective and measurable aspects of behavior and mental processes. Interpretivism emphasizes qualitative methods such as interviews and observations, while mainstream psychology often relies on quantitative methods like experiments and surveys. Additionally, interpretivism values cultural and contextual factors in understanding behavior, while mainstream psychology may prioritize universal principles and theories.

Interpretivism is conditioned by substansive resources and contingencies of interaction. Holstein (1993) argues that interpretive practices result in the procedures and resources used to apprehend, organize and represent reality. Active interviewing is a result of interpretative practices, showing the respondent and interviewer as they articulate ongoing interpretive structures.