Relationship Between Self-Referential Processing and Intrinsic Motivation in Patients with Schizophrenia.

Lee, Jung Suk; Kim, Eun Seong; Kim, Eun Joo; Kim, Joohan; Kim, Jae Jin

doi:2015.18.2.73

Korean J Schizophr Res > Volume 18(2); 2015 > Article

Original Article

Korean Journal of Schizophrenia Research 2015;18(2):73-78.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.16946/kjsr.2015.18.2.73 Published online October 31, 2015.

Relationship Between Self-Referential Processing and Intrinsic Motivation in Patients with Schizophrenia.

Jung Suk Lee, Eun Seong Kim, Eun Joo Kim, Joohan Kim, Jae Jin Kim

¹Department of Psychiatry, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
²Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. jaejkim@yonsei.ac.kr
³Graduate School of Education, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
⁴Department of Communication, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
⁵Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
⁶Department of Occupational Therapy, Chunnam Techno University, Gokseong, Korea.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The close relationship between impaired self-referential processing and intrinsic motivation in schizophrenia has been suggested, but is not investigated yet. The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of self-referential processing and its relationship with intrinsic motivation in patients with schizophrenia.
METHODS
Nineteen patients with schizophrenia and 24 healthy controls performed a self-referential processing task, in which a face (self, familiar other, or unfamiliar other) and three words (positive, neutral, and negative nouns) were presented. Participants were asked to indicate which word is relevant to the face. Intrinsic motivation and basic psychological needs affecting intrinsic motivation were assessed using self-reports.
RESULTS
Compared to healthy controls, the relevance rating between self-face and neutral word was significantly lower in patients with schizophrenia (p=0.02). In patients with schizophrenia, it was negatively correlated with intrinsic motivation (r=-0.47, p=0.04) and competence (r=-0.47, p=0.05) which is known to influence intrinsic motivation.
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that there is an impairment in self-referential processing in schizophrenia and it is associated with an impairment in intrinsic motivation. In particular, amotivation in patients with schizophrenia may represent a facet of selfdisorder.

Key Words: Schizophrenia · Self-referential processing · Intrinsic motivation · Basic psychological needs