cognitive explanations of depression

Question 1

what is beck’s cognitive triad model (1987)

Answer 1

• depression is caused by neg self-schemas that maintain the cognitive triad (a neg and irrational view of ourselves, our future and the world around us)
• these thoughts occur automatically

Question 2

negative self-schemas

Answer 2

• schemas are ‘packages’ of knowledge that store info and ideas about our self and the world around us, they are developed during childhood
• depressed people have neg self-schemas that may come from neg experiences, e.g. criticism from parents, peers or teachers

Question 3

cognitive biases

Answer 3

• depressed people will focus on the neg of a situation, ignoring the pos. this distorts information, known as cognitive bias
• he described 2 of these: overgeneralisations (making a general conclusion from a single incident), and catastrophising (exaggerating a minor setback, believing it is a complete disaster)

Question 4

negative triad

Answer 4

• maintained by neg self-schemas and cognitve biases
• a neg view about 3 aspects of a persons life, leading to depression
• the self - nobody loves me
• the world - the world is an unfair place
• the future - I’ll always be a failure

Question 5

ellis’s abc model (1962)

Answer 5

• claimed that good mental health is due to rational thinking allowing people to be happy, and depression is due to irrational thinking preventing people being happy
• irrational thinking or interpretations lead to unhealthy outcomes like depression, and rational and logical thoughts lead to good mental health

Question 6

activating event

Answer 6

• an event occurs
• e.g. you see a friend and say hi but they ignore you

Question 7

beliefs

Answer 7

• your interpretation of the event
• rational: your friend is busy and/or stressed and didn’t see/hear you
• irrational: your friend dislikes you and doesn’t want to talk to you again

Question 8

consequences

Answer 8

• rational beliefs lead to healthy outcomes (talk to my friend to see if they’re okay)
• irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy emotional outcomes, like depression (ignore my friend as they don’t want to talk to me)

Question 9

give a strength of cognitive explanations of depression
1/2

Answer 9

application to therapy. these explanations have been used to develop effective treatments for depression like CBT and REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy). these therapies identify and challenge negative and irrational thoughts, and have been successful in treating depression

Question 10

give a strength of cognitive explanations of depression
2/2

Answer 10

supported by research evidence. boury et al (2001) found that patients with depression were more likely to negatively misinterpret info (cognitive bias) and feel hopeless about their future (cognitive triad). bates et al (1999) gave depressed patients neg automatic thought statements to read and their symptoms became worse. these studies support beck’s theory and the idea that neg thinking is involved in depression

Question 11

give a limitation of cognitive explanations of depression
1/2

Answer 11

doesn’t explain the origin of irrational thoughts. since most research is correlational, we cannot determine if neg irrational thoughts cause depression, or if depression causes a neg mindset. it is also possible that other factors such as genetics and neurotransmitters are the cause of depression, and the irrational thoughts are just a symptom

Question 12

give a limitation of cognitive explanations of depression
2/2

Answer 12

alternative explanations suggest depression is biological, caused by genes and neurotransmitters. research into the role of serotonin found lower levels in patients with depression. also, drug therapies like SSRIs are effective in treating depression, supporting the role of neurotransmitters in the development of depression. this casts doubt on the cognitive explanation of depression, suggesting it isn’t the sole cause of the illness