Negative Expectancy in Motivation

Abstract

Motivation has many roles in alcohol consumption and although motivation for recovery from alcohol problems is recognised as one of them, paradoxically the vast majority of research within the area of problem drinking continues to be directed towards motivation to drink. Whilst the contribution made by this approach is acknowledged, a more appropriate direction might he to enquire not “What makes people drink?” but “What makes people stop drinking?”

The key to this approach is not the much-researched concept of positive expectancy but rather the hitherto neglected concept of negative expectancy. Evidence from spontaneous remission studies supporting the importance of negative expectancy in recovery is reviewed and the factors (primacy and contrast) are identified which appear to attenuate the translation of negative experiences into negative expectancies and, consequently, motivation for recovery. Finally, the implications for treatment and the need to develop methods of motivational assessment (negative expectancy) are discussed.

Key Words:

• Problem drinking
• positive expectancy
• motivation to change
• denial
• negative expectancy
• motivational assessment