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Henderson begins with the premise that dependency is the most fundamental determinant of social behavior. The term 'care-eliciting', based in part on the work of Bowlby who uses the word 'attachment', seems to be chosen to reflect the true bidirectional nature of the relationship as well as to avoid the pejorative connotations of 'dependency'. Such behavior remains a normal part of the human repertoire throughout life. Its phylogenetic origins are discussed along the lines of Scott's 'et-epimeletic' behavior in which birds and mammals call or signal for help and attention. In humans, this serves an important species function. It appears to have the biological importance of maintaining affectional bonds for reproductive purposes, as well as maintaining strong social bonds between members of a group as a complement to intraspecies aggression. Abnormal careeliciting behavior is felt to occur in parasuicide, neurotic depression, conversion hysteria, anorexia nervosa, and a number of other symptoms. Although the author discusses the relationship between 'secondary gain' and care-eliciting behavior, this connection may require further delineation before any clinical usefulness for the new concept can be postulated. It is noted that care-eliciting syndromes all share the property of evoking ambivalent responses in others, particularly health professionals.