Motivation: The Crucial but Unexplored Component of Social Work Practice

Abstract

Motivation is an important construct in social work, yet it is one that has been relatively unexplored. In this article, motivation is defined, the social work literature on the subject is briefly reviewed, and the recent empirical re search in psychology is summarized. The most significant findings that relate motivation to theories of locus of control and self-determination are dis cussed in terms of applications to social work practice. Further empirical study in this area is strongly recommended. THE IDEA of motivation is everyNora Gold and thus illustrate the difficulty in arriv where in social work. Cutting ing t some common, ag eed-upon