Milton R. Cudney, Ph.D., (1930–1992) was a professor of counseling at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Dr. Cudney originated the theory to eliminate self-defeating behaviors which asserts that at each new moment people have the ability to make a choice for either a self-defeating or life-enhancing behavior. He wrote the book Self-Defeating Behaviors: Free Yourself from the Habits, Compulsions, Feelings, and Attitudes That Hold You.