Abstract:
Existing models in occupational therapy, while conceptually rich, are predominantly static and component-based, limiting their capacity to formally describe the dynamics of change over time. This paper introduces the Theory of Volitional Dynamics, a novel paradigm that conceptualizes human occupation not as a linear output of discrete components, but as an emergent property of a complex, nonlinear dynamical system. The state of this system is defined by a point within a multi-dimensional phase space, whose axes represent core occupational constructs: Volition, Habituation, Performance Capacity, and Environmental Press. Within this space, an individual’s occupational patterns are governed by four primary attractor states, or “Occupational Archetypes,” which are fundamentally shaped by stable personality traits. These archetypes—The Explorer, The Architect, The Connector, and The Sentinel—represent basins of attraction toward which an individual’s occupational trajectory naturally converges. The dynamics of this system are grounded in their neural substrates, including the frontoparietal and striatopallidal circuits governing volition and motivation. This framework culminates in a new theory of therapeutic action, the Principle of Volitional Perturbance. This principle posits that therapeutic change is achieved by applying small, strategically targeted, and meaningful occupational inputs that leverage the system’s inherent sensitivity to initial conditions, thereby nudging its trajectory from a maladaptive attractor state toward a more functional one
Yıldırım, E. (2025). A Dynamical Systems Model of Occupational Engagement: The Principle of Volitional Perturbance. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17055409
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