Theories of Motivation and Addictive Behavior

A word after a word after a word is power. —Margaret atwood, " Spelling " For a detective, the easiest crimes to solve are those with an apparent motive: He wanted her money, and so he killed her for it. The crime makes sense. Crimes with no apparent motive are more difficult, such as when a person is attacked by someone unknown to him or her. But perhaps there are clues—a hair follicle, a scrap of clothing, or an eyewit-ness. The most difficult crimes of all are those that occur despite apparent countermotives: He had spent his life savings to protect her, so why would he have killed her? In this case, even the best detective is at a loss to explain why it happened. Treatment providers can encounter similar puzzles when trying to explain the motivation behind substance abuse. Some people, particularly those in the early stages of addiction, seem to have clear motives for use. Perhaps they enjoy the pleasurable effects or use to minimize negative effects. However, people in later stages of addiction are more puzzling since they seem to use despite the effects. In fact, it's not uncommon for persons in later-stage addiction to say that they use drugs despite the effects rather than because of them. At the same time, people may feel that they like the drug less but need it more. This chapter discusses motivational theories of addiction. Our goal is to explain why people use substances (sometimes despite their best interests) and the conditions under which people are more likely to make changes. The chapter begins with a review of motivational theories of addiction, in particular those that help explain the paradox of drug use despite an array of problems. We then discuss theories of motivational change, in particular focusing on factors that may make change more likely to " stick. " Finally, we discuss the way that motivation connects to language, and how counselor and client words can shift the balance toward change. There are many different ways to explain the acquisition and maintenance of addictive disorders. draw a distinction between two motivational factors: " liking " and " wanting. " " Liking " refers to the immediate pleasure one gets from contact with a stimuli, such as with a pleasant taste or smell. " Wanting " refers to the " magnet quality " of something that makes it desirable. Wanting …