6. cognitive approach to explaining depression Flashcards
BECK’S NEGATIVE TRIAD
Beck took a cognitive approach to explaining why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others. In particular it is a person’s cognitions that create this vulnerability.
Beck suggested three parts to this cognitive vulnerability:
FAULTY INFORMATION PROCESSING
NEGATIVE SELF-SCHEMA
THE NEGATIVE TRIAD
FAULTY INFORMATION PROCESSING
Beck believed depressed people made fundamental errors in logic.
This is when depressed people attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives. Depressed people may tend towards ‘black and white thinking’ where something is either all bad or all good.
NEGATIVE SELF-SCHEMA
define schema first
A schema is a ‘package’ of ideas and information developed through experience. They act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information.
A self-schema is the package of information people have about themselves.
People use schema to interpret the world, so if a person has a negative self-schema, they interpret all information about themselves in a negative way.
THE NEGATIVE TRIAD
Beck suggested that a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of three types of negative thinking that occur automatically, regardless of the reality of what is happening at the time.
These three elements are called the negative triad.
When a person is depressed, negative thoughts about the world (creates the impression that there is no hope anywhere), the future (thoughts reduce any hopefulness and enhance depression) and oneself are uppermost.
These thoughts enhance any existing depressive feelings because they confirm the existing emotions of low self-esteem.
AO3: strength of COGNITIVE APPROACH TO EXPLAINING DEPRESSION
BECK - research support (Cohen)
One strength generally of Beck’s cognitive model of depression is the existence of supporting research.
Cohen et al. tracked the development of 473 adolescents and monitored their levels of ‘cognitive vulnerability’. This is a term used to describe people who are predisposed to developing depression due to negative schema and faulty info processing. They found that those who were the most ‘cognitively vulnerable’ went on to develop depression more frequently.
This supports Beck’s cognitive explanation as it shows that those who shows signs of poor cognitive functioning were more likely to develop depression.
AO3: strength of COGNITIVE APPROACH TO EXPLAINING DEPRESSION
Beck - practical application
A further strength of Beck’s cognitive model of depression is its applications in screening and treatment for depression.
If it is possible to screen young people for their cognitive vulnerability, then we can identify those who are at most risk of developing depression. When individuals are identified as high risk, it is possible to provide treatment such as cognitive behavioural therapy, minimising the risk of them developing depression. This is a strength because Beck’s theory has led to CBT which treats people and reduces their depressive symptoms, allowing them a better quality of life.
This means that an understanding of cognitive vulnerability is useful in more than one aspect of clinical practice.
AO3: limitation of COGNITIVE APPROACH TO EXPLAINING DEPRESSION
BECK - some aspects cant be explained
There are some aspects of depression that are not mentioned in Beck’s theory.
Some people with depression feel extreme anger and others even experience delusions and hallucinations.
However, these symptoms are not easily explained by looking simply at the cognitive aspects of faulty information processing.
Therefore, Beck’s theory can only be assumed to be a partial explanation of depression, not a full one.
ELLIS’S ABC MODEL
Ellis proposed that good mental health is the result of rational thinking, defined as thinking in ways that allow people to be happy and free from pain.
To Ellis, conditions like anxiety and depression result from
irrational thoughts.
Ellis defined irrational thoughts, not as illogical or unrealistic thoughts, but as any thoughts that interfere with us being happy and free from pain.
Ellis used the ABC model to explain how irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state:
A stands for
A) ACTIVATING EVENT
Ellis focused on situations in which irrational thoughts are triggered by external events.
According to Ellis we get depressed when we experience negative events and these trigger irrational beliefs.
ABC MODEL
B STANDS FOR
B) BELIEFS
Ellis identified a range of irrational beliefs. He called musturbation the belief that we must always succeed or achieve perfection. ‘I-can’t-stand-it-itis’ is the belief that it is a major disaster whenever something does not go smoothly. Utopianism is the belief that life is always meant to be fair.
ABC MODEL
C STANDS FOR
C) CONSEQUENCES
When an activating event triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences.
AO3: strength of COGNITIVE APPROACH TO EXPLAINING DEPRESSION
ELLIS - real world application (REBT)
One strength of Ellis’s ABC model is its real-world application in the psychological treatment of depression.
Ellis’s approach to cognitive therapy is called rational emotive behaviour therapy or REBT for short. The idea of REBT is that by vigorously arguing with a depressed person the therapist can alter the irrational beliefs that are making them unhappy. There is some evidence to support the idea that REBT can both change negative beliefs and relieve the symptoms of depression.
This means that REBT has real-world value.
AO3: limitation of COGNITIVE APPROACH TO EXPLAINING DEPRESSION
ELLIS - only explains reactive depression
One limitation of Ellis’s ABC model of depression is that it only explains reactive depression and not endogenous depression.
There seems to be no doubt that depression is often triggered by life events - what Ellis would call ‘activating events’ Such cases are sometimes called reactive depression. How we respond to negative life events also seems to be at least partly the result of our beliefs. However, many cases of depression are not traceable to life events, and it is not obvious what leads the person to become depressed at a particular time. This type of depression is sometimes called endogenous depression. Ellis’s ABC model is less useful for explaining endogenous depression.
This means that Ellis’s model can only explain some cases of depression and is therefore only a partial explanation.
