cognitive approach Flashcards
Evaluate CBT Therapy: Effectiveness
-Research Support: A number of studies have compared effectiveness of CBT with drug therapy for treating severe depression. Jarett et al (1999) found CBT was as effective as some antidepressant drugs when treating 108 patients with severe depression over a 10 week trial. However, Holon et al (1992) found no difference in CBT when compared with a different kind of antidepressant in a drug sample of 107 patients over a 10 week trial > suggests CBT is not superior to all antidepressants.
-Therapist competence: incl: the ability to structure sessions, plan and review assignments, application of relaxation skills + engage + foster good therapeutic relations. Kuyken and Tsinvikos (2009) claim as much of 15% of variable outcomes of CBT effectiveness attribute to therapist competence.
-Individual Differences: CBT may be more suitable for some than other so Individual differences need to be taken into consideration when examining the effectiveness eg. appears less suitable for people with high levels of irrational beliefs that are rigid + resistant to change > less suitable in situations where high levels of stress in an individual reflect realist stressors therapy cannot resolve (Simons et al 1995).
Evaluate CBT Therapy: Effectiveness 2 and Ethical Issues
-Empowerment: CBT empowers clients to develop own coping strategies + recognises people have free will to do this. CBT has become increasingly popular alternative to drug therapy + psychanalysis, particularly for people who cannot cope with deterministic principles of these approaches. Has become most widely used therapy by clinical psychologists in the NHS.
-Ethical Issues, Patient blame: CBT therapy assumes client is responsible for disorder, while this is a positive thing as they are empowered to change their way of thinking, it is negative because situational factors contributing to disorder may be overlooked such as family problems or life events> therefore blaming the individual for the way they think/feel.
-What is rational?: ethical debate concerns who judges ‘irrational’ thoughts > may seem irrational to therapist > client changes them > may not be irrational. Alloy and Abrahamson (1979) suggested depressive realists tend to see things for what they are + normal people have a tendency to distort things in a positive way. Found depressed people display sadder but wiser effect > more accurate in estimates of likelihood of ‘disaster’ than non-depressed individuals. Ethical issues is CBT may damage self esteem > example of psychological harm.
Loftus and Palmer Methodology
-Sample: US College Students.
-Study consists of two experiments conducted in a lab using an independent group design, exp 1: 45 p’s, exp 2: 150 p’s. Used experiments, IV was verb used and DV was estimate of speed (mph).
Loftus and Palmer Methodology Evaluation
-Controlled experiment, conducted research using experiments: one advantage of this is that it demonstrates a casual relationship.
-By manipulating the Iv we can see the casual effect on the DV and draw a casual conclusions > this is true in a lab study where confounding variables are correctly controlled so any change in DV is due to IV and not any other factors.
-In study, p’s watched film clips of accidents > not the same as real life as people in an accident > may not represent real life > lacking ecological validity. Foster et al (1994) found that p’s thought they were watching a real life robbery + also thought that their responses would influence trial and identification of a robber was more accurate.
