ABSTRACT
You may recall from Question 4 the story of the 4-year-old girl who died from water-intoxication therapy; the excessive water was administered by her parents at the advice of counselors who had their own theory for “attachment disordered” children. This theory suggested paradoxical interventions such as this would discourage inappropriate behavior and would somehow cause the little girl to draw closer to her parents. It is this sort of reckless theorizing behavior analysts find totally abhorrent and that reinforces their conviction that we are simply better off without theories.
