4.1.4 COGNITIVE APPROACH TO EXPLAINING DEPRESSION

Question 1

what is the cognitive explanation of depression?

Answer 1

• this explanation looks at our ‘mental processes’ (thoughts, attention, perception) and how they affect our behaviour
• cognitive psychologists look at how irrational thinking (cognition) leads the patient to suffer from depression

Question 2

how does Beck explain depression?
BECK’S NEGATIVE TRIAD

Answer 2

• as a vulnerability that can be caused by the person’s cognition (the way they think) + their negative schemas
• suggested there were 3 parts to cognitive vulnerability
  Beck’s negative triad

Question 3

what are the suggested three parts of Beck’s cognitive vulnerability?

Answer 3

1) faulty information processing
2) negative self-schema
3) the negative triad

Question 4

what is meant by faulty information processing?

Answer 4

• the depressed person tends to ignore the positives in their lives and only focus on the negatives
• will blow small problems out of proportion
• these cognitive biases cause the depressed person to constantly see themselves as worthless and useless

Question 5

what is meant by negative self-schema?

Answer 5

• a schema is a shortcut that acts as a mental framework for the individual
• a self-schema is the framework of information they have about themselves
• when depressed, the person will have a negative self-schema which means they interpret all the info about / around themselves negatively
• eg) they could have an ineptness schema, in which they believe they will fail, and/or a negative self-evaluation schema, where they constantly remind themselves of their worthlessness

Question 6

what is meant by the negative triad?

Answer 6

• regardless of the reality, due to the person having depression + having both cognitive biases + negative self-schemas, the depressed person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves
• Beck suggest that a depressed person has three elements of negative thinking + these are called the negative triad:

-> negative view of the self
-> negative view of the world
-> negative view of the future

Question 7

what are two strengths of Beck’s Negative Triad?

Answer 7

• personal life events are taken into account + recognised as a starting point for the person’s depression

Joseph Cohen et al. (2019)
- supported Beck’s findings
- tracked 473 adolescents
- ensuring they measured their cognitive vulnerability regularly
- found that those who had shown cognitive vulnerability predicted depression later on

Question 8

what is the real-world application of Beck’s Negative Triad?
STRENGTH

Answer 8

• due to the findings of both Beck and following psychologists
• it’s allowed psychologists and therapists to understand cognitive vulnerability and apply it in treatments such as CBT
  (cognitive behavioural therapy)

Question 9

what are two limitations of Beck’s Negative Triad?

Answer 9

it doesn’t explain the symptoms of depression
- like why different depressed people may experience different feelings
- eg) feeling extreme anger, hallucinations, or extreme exhaustion

not all irrational thoughts are irrational:
- Alloy & Abrahamson (1979) found that depressed people had the ’Sadder but Wiser effect’
- where they gave more accurate estimates of the likelihood of disaster than those not depressed

Question 10

how does Ellis explain depression?

Answer 10

• had a slightly different view to Beck and suggested depression is caused by irrational thoughts and that rational thoughts cause good mental health
• mans stated that these irrational thoughts interfere with happiness and cause the person to be unhappy
• defined irrational thoughts as not logical or realistic thoughts

Question 11

why did Ellis develop the ABC model?

Answer 11

to explain how irrational thoughts affect individuals

Question 12

what does the A stand for in the ABC model?

Answer 12

A: Activating event

• this is a negative event that triggers the irrational thoughts
• eg) losing your job

Question 13

what does the B stand for in the ABC model?

Answer 13

B: beliefs

• the thought which the person associates with the event, and why it happened
• these can be either rational (healthy)
  eg) i didn’t really like the job anyway and wanted a new one
• or irrational (unhealthy)
  eg) i am so useless, i will never get another job as i do not deserve one

Question 14

what does the C stand for in the ABC model?

Answer 14

C: consequences

• rational beliefs lead to health consequences (new job or job searching)
• irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy consequences (believing you will never deserve another job, which leads to depression)
• in Ellis’ ABC model, unhealthy consequence always leads to depression

Question 15

what are some strengths of Ellis’ ABC model?

Answer 15

1) REBT (a form of CBT)
- led by Ellis following the ABC model has been successful in treating depression and changing thought patterns

2) David et al. (2018)
- stated that REBT can both change negative beliefs and change the symptoms of depression

3) it lays the responsibility with the individual and allows them the power to change the way things are

Question 16

what are some limitations of Ellis’ ABC model?

Answer 16

1) not all irrational thoughts are irrational
- **Alloy and Abrahmson (1979) found that depressed had the ‘Sadder but Wiser effect’
- where they gave more accurate estimates of the likelihood of disaster than those not depressed

2) it doesn’t explain all of the symptoms of depression
- such as behaviours that differ
- eg) extreme anger / exhaustion

3) it gives responsibility completely to the individual suffering with depression
- which in turn could be seen to be blaming them

4) only accounts for reactive depression
- where the individual has had an activating event but doesn’t account for endogenous depression
- when the depression isn’t traceable to life events