What would Karl Popper say? Are current psychological theories of ADHD falsifiable?

Katherine A. Johnson, Jan R. Wiersema, Jonna Kuntsi

Research output: Contribution to journalLiterature reviewpeer-review

57 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common and highly heritable neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder. Here, we critically review four major psychological theories of ADHD - the Executive Dysfunction, the State Regulation, the Delay Aversion and the Dynamic Developmental - on their abilities to explain all the symptoms of ADHD, their testability and their openness to falsification. We conclude that theoreticians should focus, to a greater extent than currently practiced, on developing refutable theories of ADHD.
Original languageEnglish
Article number15
JournalBehavioral And Brain Functions
Volume5
Publication statusPublished - 3 Mar 2009

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