Studying Motivation in ADHD: The Role of Internal Motives and the Relevance of Self Determination Theory

Narrative review arguing ADHD motivation research has historically focused on how external reinforcement (rewards, punishments) shapes behavior while under-studying internal motives -- what a person actually wants and values. Introduces Self-Determination Theory's three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) as a framework for explaining why ADHD engagement rises sharply for autonomy-supportive or personally interesting tasks and collapses for externally imposed, low-interest ones.