3 Things I Learned in Grad School This Week ~ Jan 22, 2017

I learned a lot this past week. Actually, I wrote down more things this week than the last 5 weeks combined. So, I will not be at a loss for the next few weeks. This week though, I have: Kellert's Typology, Self Determination Theory, and Nomothetic vs Idiographic. Exciting.

Kellert’s Typology
There are between 9 and 12 types of relationships between humans and wildlife. This has been fluctuating apparently since Kellert identified them in 1980. Currently there are 9 generally accepted and they are listed in the Typology of Human Values for Nature Table below.

pulled from: https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/hp331-2012-celestine/theories-of-attitudes-and-practices/practices/factors-contributing-to-pro-environmental-behaviors/

Self-Determination Theory
Located within the realm of Psychology, Self-Determination Theory (SDT – but also very different from STDs) focuses on motivations – both conscious and unconscious – that influence choices and behaviors. SDT revolves around inherent growth tendencies that provide agency and commitment toward the fulfillment of a goal or simply a desire. The three needs that are innate to SDT are Competence, Relatedness, and Autonomy. If these needs are met than optimal growth is allowed and full function of that desire or goal is actualized. Competence is mastering or the drive toward mastery of a skill or behavior. Relatedness is connecting with others and Autonomy is the drive to be in charge (or believe you are in charge of) your own life and actions. The interesting part of this is even if you know that you are not in control of yourself, as long as you are in harmony with your ‘integrated self’ (not totally sure what that is yet) then you can have a degree of autonomy.
 
Summarized from the Wikipedia page on STD, there are three elements of STD. To meet these needs, they need ‘nurturing’ from the social environment:
1. Humans are inherently proactive with their potential and mastering their inner forces (such as drives and emotions)
2. Humans have inherent tendency toward growth development and integrated functioning
3. Optimal development and actions are inherent in humans but they don’t happen automatically
 
Additionally, there are Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivations. Intrinsic Motivations are the drives to seek out challenges for development within the social realm or intellectually. Extrinsic Motivations are exactly that – outside the self. For example: your boss telling you what to do, reframing what your boss tells you to do so that you make it important to your own values, anticipating what your boss will tell you what to do, and then doing what you believe the mission of the company is because you’ve integrated the company’s mission into your own personal values.
 
Nomothetic and Idiographic
Idiographic: relating to the study or discovery of particular scientific facts and processes, as distinct from general laws.
Nomothetic: relating to the study or discovery of general scientific laws.
 
I’m finding these terms similar and applicable to qualitative vs quantitative research. Similar to Inductive vs Deductive (or bottom up vs top down). As a person that this school is training to be a qualitative researcher, I’m finding that all of my research is Idiographic and Inductive. I am not testing a theory, I am not testing how much of something or another. Where I spend my time is in uncovering the phenomena, similar to an old-school naturalist or an investigative journalist. However, one of my questions this week is what separates an investigative journalist from a qualitative researcher. I gathered a couple answers but they aren’t very satisfying. The best answer so far is that my findings are rigorously reviewed by my committee, peers, and colleagues formally before they can be considered new knowledge. I will try to uncover more answers though …