Behav Brain Funct. 2009 Mar 3;5:15.

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

Source

School of Psychology and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. johnsoka@tcd.ie.

Abstract

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.

PMID:: 19257888; [PubMed - in process]
PMCID: PMC2654902

Free PMC Article

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Libraries

LinkOut Holdings

Supplemental Content

Related citations

Do executive deficits and delay aversion make independent contributions to preschool attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms? [J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2003]
Do executive deficits and delay aversion make independent contributions to preschool attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms?
Sonuga-Barke EJ, Dalen L, Remington B. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2003 Nov; 42(11):1335-42.
Review Executive dysfunction in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: cognitive and neuroimaging findings. [Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2004]
Review Executive dysfunction in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: cognitive and neuroimaging findings.
Roth RM, Saykin AJ. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2004 Mar; 27(1):83-96, ix.
Review The cognitive-energetic model: an empirical approach to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. [Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2000]
Review The cognitive-energetic model: an empirical approach to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Sergeant J. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2000 Jan; 24(1):7-12.
Review Executive dysfunction and delay aversion in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: nosologic and diagnostic implications. [Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2008]
Review Executive dysfunction and delay aversion in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: nosologic and diagnostic implications.
Sonuga-Barke EJ, Sergeant JA, Nigg J, Willcutt E. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2008 Apr; 17(2):367-84, ix.
Examining relationships between executive functioning and delay aversion in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. [J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2011]
Examining relationships between executive functioning and delay aversion in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Karalunas SL, Huang-Pollock CL. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2011 Nov; 40(6):837-47.

See reviews... See all...

Cited by 5 PubMed Central articles

Review Twin studies and their implications for molecular genetic studies: endophenotypes integrate quantitative and molecular genetics in ADHD research. [J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010]
Review Twin studies and their implications for molecular genetic studies: endophenotypes integrate quantitative and molecular genetics in ADHD research.
Wood AC, Neale MC. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010 Sep; 49(9):874-83. Epub 2010 Jul 31.
Owner reports of attention, activity, and impulsivity in dogs: a replication study. [Behav Brain Funct. 2010]
Owner reports of attention, activity, and impulsivity in dogs: a replication study.
Lit L, Schweitzer JB, Iosif AM, Oberbauer AM. Behav Brain Funct. 2010 Jan 4; 6:1. Epub 2010 Jan 4.
Separation of genetic influences on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and reaction time performance from those on IQ. [Psychol Med. 2010]
Separation of genetic influences on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and reaction time performance from those on IQ.
Wood AC, Asherson P, van der Meere JJ, Kuntsi J. Psychol Med. 2010 Jun; 40(6):1027-37. Epub 2009 Sep 15.

See all...

Related information

Related Citations
Calculated set of PubMed citations closely related to the selected article(s) retrieved using a word weight algorithm. Related articles are displayed in ranked order from most to least relevant, with the “linked from” citation displayed first.
References for this PMC Article
Citation referenced in PubMed article. Only valid for PubMed citations that are also in PMC.
Free in PMC
Free full text articles in PMC
Cited in PMC
Full-text articles in the PubMed Central Database that cite the current articles.

Recent activity

Clear Turn Off Turn On

What would Karl Popper say? Are current psychological theories of ADHD falsifiab...
What would Karl Popper say? Are current psychological theories of ADHD falsifiable?
Behav Brain Funct. 2009 Mar 3 ;5:15.

PubMed
Upregulation of casein kinase 1epsilon in dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord af...
Upregulation of casein kinase 1epsilon in dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord after mouse spinal nerve injury contributes to neuropathic pain.
Mol Pain. 2009 Dec 18 ;5:74.

PubMed
Molecular species identification boosts bat diversity.
Molecular species identification boosts bat diversity.
Front Zool. 2007 Feb 12 ;4:4.

PubMed
Does television viewing predict dietary intake five years later in high school s...
Does television viewing predict dietary intake five years later in high school students and young adults?
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2009 Jan 30 ;6:7.

PubMed
Co-regulation of mouse genes predicts function.
Co-regulation of mouse genes predicts function.
J Biol. 2004 ;3(5):19. Epub 2004 Dec 6 .

PubMed

Your browsing activity is empty.

Activity recording is turned off.

Turn recording back on

PubMed

Display Settings:

Send to:

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

Source

Abstract

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Libraries

Supplemental Content

Related citations

Cited by 5 PubMed Central articles

Related information

Recent activity

Simple NCBI Directory

Getting Started

Resources

Popular

Featured

NCBI Information