Cognitive explanations of Mood Disorders

Question 1

Outline the theory of DYSFUNCTIONAL THINKING (Beck, 1967 and 1976)

Answer 1

Repressed people develop NEGATIVE SCHEMAS which cause them to view events in a PESSIMISTIC way

Question 2

How do negative schemas develop?

Answer 2

1. NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES with family, friends or authority figures
2. Negative SCHEMAS DEVELOP in CHILDHOOD and ADOLESCENCE
3. These negative schemas then continue into adulthood and depressed people become VICTIMS of their OWN BIASED INFORMATIONAL PROCESSING
4. ONLY NEGATIVE INFO is ADDED to the scheme

Question 3

Explain what is meant by SELECTIVE PERCEPTION in terms of biased informational processing

Answer 3

Fox using on NEGATIVE ASPECTS of a SITUATION and IGNORING POSITIVE ones

Eg my team lost because only I played badly

Question 4

Explain what is meant by OVERGENERALISATION in terms of biased informational processing

Answer 4

Believing that ONE NEGATIVE EVENT means EVERYTHING is NEGATIVE

Eg I am a complete failure because I failed a class test

Question 5

According to Beck DYSFUNCTIONAL BELIEFS do NOT necessarily lead to depression. What did Beck believe was needed for the negative schemas to lead to depression?

Answer 5

The individual with dysfunctional beliefs will ONLY BECOME DEPRESSED if they encounter a CRITICAL LIFE EVENT which TRIGGERS faulty thinking and results in the symptoms of depression

Question 6

Outline the COGNITIVE TRIAD proposed by Beck (2002)

Answer 6

Depressed people consistently think negatively about:-

• the SELF eg “I am worthless”
• the WORLD eg “life is rubbish”
• the FUTURE eg “nothing good will ever happen to me”

Question 7

What was the aim of Weissman and Beck’s 1978 study?

Answer 7

To investigate the THOUGHT PROCESS of depressed people to establish if they use negative schemas

Question 8

What was the method of Weissman and Beck’s 1978 study?

Answer 8

THOUGHT PROCESS were measured using the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS)

Ppt’s were asked to fill in a QUESTIONNAIRE by ticking whether they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements
Eg ‘people will probably think less of me if I make a mistake’

Question 9

What were the results of Weissman and Beck’s 1978 study?

Answer 9

DEPRESSED patients scored HIGHER on the DAS (they made more negative assessments) than non-depressed patients

Question 10

What was the conclusion of Weissman and Beck’s 1978 study?

Answer 10

Depressed people THINK more NEGATIVELY bad use NEGATIVE SCHEMAS

Question 11

What doe the cognitive theory of depression suggest?

Answer 11

That people become depressed because they tend to THINK in SELF DEFEATING ways

Question 12

What is the Attribution-helplessness Model? (Abeam son et al 1978)

Answer 12

Abramson proposed that the types of attributions people make about uncontrollable events can lead to depression

Question 13

What are the kinds or attributions people can make about uncontrollable events?

Answer 13

INTERNAL or EXTERNAL - judging the cause as something within the individual or the environment

GLOBAL or SPECIFIC - will affect all situations or just specific to that one

STABLE or UNSTABLE - will always be that way, or can change (time)

Question 14

What kind of attributions do depressed people make according to Abramson?

Answer 14

INTERNAL

GLOBAL

STABLE

for negative events

I.e. They blame themselves

Question 15

What was the aim of Seligman et al’s 1974 study into the attribution-helplessness theory?

Answer 15

To investigate whether depressed people had more INTERNAL attributions for negative events

Question 16

What was the method of Seligman et al’s 1974 study into the attribution-helplessness theory?

Answer 16

Ppt’s were given a QUESTIONNAIRE to assess their attribution style

It contained 12 HYPOTHETICAL SITUATIONS for which the ppt had to write down ONE MAJOR CAUSE for each situation

Question 17

What were the four types of situations used in Seligman et al’s study questionnaire?

Answer 17

Positive ACHIEVEMENT

Negative achievement

Positive INTERPERSONAL

Negative interpersonal

Question 18

What were the results of Seligman et al’s 1974 study into the attribution-helplessness theory?

Answer 18

Depressed ppt’s attributed most POSITIVE SITUATIONS as CAUSED by OTHER PEOPLE (externally) and most NEGATIVE SITUATIONS as CAUSED by themSELVES (internally)

Question 19

What did Seligman et al conclude from their 1974 study into the attribution-helplessness theory?

Answer 19

INTERNAL attributions of NEGATIVE events is a FACTOR in the CAUSE of depression

Question 20

Why does research evidence support the cognitive explanation?

Answer 20

Many studies have tested whether depressed people THINK MORE NEGATIVELY than non-depressed people and most studies have found SUPPORT for this IDEA

Eg Weissman and Beck (1978)

Question 21

What does support for the negative triad strengthen the cognitive explanation?

Answer 21

Haaga et al (1991) found that depressed people do think more negatively and hopelessly than non-depressed people in relation to the SELF, the WORLD and the FUTURE

Question 22

Why does PRACTICAL APPLICATION strengthen the cognitive explanation?

Answer 22

Cognitive explanations have resulted in EFFECTIVE COGNITIVE THERAPIES for the treatment of depression

Question 23

Why is there a problem with CAUSE and EFFECT?

Answer 23

Evidence seems to suggest that the PESSIMISTIC ATTRIBUTION STYLE seems to DISAPPEAR when the person in NOT DEPRESSED, so it MAY BE an EFFECT of depression rather than a cause of it

Question 24

Not all evidence supports the role of INFORMATION PROCESSING BIAS in depression. Why is this a weakness?

Answer 24

With respect to an information processing bias, Eysenck and Keene, 2002 have concluded that there is ONLY MIXED EVIDENCE for biased information processing in depressed individuals

Question 25

The cognitive explanation is an incomplete explanation. Why is this a weakness?

Answer 25

According to Damasio, 2000, NEUROIMAGING techniques have shown that EMOTIONAL PROCESSING can occur BEFORE COGNITIVE PROCESSING and therefore EMOTIONS MIGHT be CONTROLLING COGNITIONS rather than the other way around

If this is the case, Beck’s cognitive theory is incomplete, as there seems to be a NEED to ACCOMMODATE the INFLUENCE of EMOTION in our cognitive responses

Question 26

The cognitive theory is REDUCTIONIST, as it IGNORES IMPORTANT SOCIAL FACTORS. Why is this a weakness?

Answer 26

They focus on INTERNAL COGNITIONS also MINIMISES the IMPACT or environmental and SOCIAL CONTEXTS in which people live

Many depressed people live very STRESSFUL lives and many researchers now look towards a more INTEGRATIVE model that takes into account these other factors

Question 27

The cognitive explanations can only be applied to UNIPOLAR depression. Why is this a weakness?

Answer 27

The cognitive approach is LESS SUCCESSFUL in explaining the MANIC phase in BIPOLAR disorder