Intrinsic Motivation and Clinical Practice: The Key to Understanding the Unmotivated Client

Abstract

Although the goal of engaging clients in intrinsically motivating activities has been identified as an essential aspect of clinical practice, occupational therapists continue to find the treatment of unmotivated individuals perplexing. The clinical problem of motivating clients must begin with the therapist having a good understanding of the theory of intrinsic motivation and an ability to utilize research findings from other fields such as psychology, education and management, so that relevant treatment strategies can be developed. However, without access to a conceptual model which can be used to organize experimental findings, the task of making sense of this diverse body of knowledge becomes burdensome. This article presents a conceptual model in which four determinants of intrinsic motivation are delineated. The concepts are identified as the orientation of the task environment, the meaningfulness of the activity, the provision of opportunities for personal control, and for the generation of feelings of competence. Each concept is defined and discussed in relation to the clinical problem of motivating clients.