This article, from the July 2008 issue of Social Work, is authored by Karen E. Gerdes and Layne K. Stromwall, both of Arizona State University’s School of Social Work. In addition to providing a thorough history of the concept of conation and Kathy Kolbe’s contributions to the understanding of instinct-driven behaviors, the article outlines a “strengths-based” approach to the practice of social work and suggests areas for future research. The authors, drawing on personal experience as well as documented research studies, conclude that adding conative assessments to cognitive and affective assessments can help social workers create practical interventions which can help individuals achieve a higher quality of life.

In a study of conative stress, individuals who were expected to perform outside of their natural conative MO were significantly more likely to quit for job related reasons. Managers who received Kolbe

This thesis focuses on forming effective teams in a workplace environment.

Undergraduate Computer Science students with the greatest need for a hands-on approach to learning were half as likely to reach upper level courses in their program. These students showed no significant