title: The relationship of trait to state motivation: the role of self-competency beliefs.
abstract: Even when people with schizophrenia describe themselves as generally motivated and eager to engage in activities, they may not actually be motivated in the present moment. In order to better understand the relationship between trait and state motivation, we aimed to assess trait motivation and state intrinsic motivation, and investigate their relations to each other and to criterion-related variables including cognition, negative symptoms, and beliefs about one's own competency-also known as perceived competency (PC). Further, we investigated whether PC mediates the relationships between state intrinsic motivation (IM) and trait motivation dimensions. Forty individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders were administered two self-report measures of motivation, the Motivational Trait Questionnaire (Kanfer, R., Ackerman, P., 2000. Individual differences in work motivation: further explorations of a trait framework. Appl. Psychol. 49 (3), 470-482) and the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory for Schizophrenia Research (Choi, J., Medalia, A., 2010. Intrinsic motivation and learning in a schizophrenia spectrum sample. Schizophr. Res. 118, 12-19), as well as measures of PC, cognition and symptoms. The results showed that in people with schizophrenia, trait approach motivation, but not trait avoidance motivation, is positively correlated with state intrinsic motivation and PC. There was evidence that PC partially mediates the relationship between trait approach motivation and state intrinsic motivation to do the task. These results support the role of therapies that directly address self-competency beliefs and set the groundwork for future investigations on the impact of such treatments on motivation.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Kee-Hong
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Alice M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Saperstein
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Medalia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult