depression Flashcards
behavioural characteristics of depression
- activity levels = reduced levels of energy, withdraw from work, education and social life
- disruption to sleep + eating behaviour = experience insomnia/hypersomnia, eating may increase or decrease
aggression + self-harm = sufferers irritable, become verbally or physically aggressive, can be directed at one self
emotional characteristics of depression
- lowered mood = more severe than feeling lethargic and sad, often feel worthless + empty
- anger = directed at self or others, leads to aggressive or self-harming behaviour
- lowered self-esteem = report reduced self-esteem; describe a sense of self-loathing
cognitive characteristics of depression
- poor concentration = sufferer unable to stick with a task or find it hard to make decisions
- attending to and dwelling on the negative = inclined to focus on negative aspects of a situation, ignoring the positives. bias recalling unhappy events
- absolutist thinking = most situations aren’t all-good or all-bad, sufferers tend to think in these ‘black and white’ terms
what are the three components of Beck’s theory of depression?
- cognitive biases
- negative self-schemas
- the negative triad
cognitive biases
depressed people more likely to focus on negative aspects of a situation, ignoring the positives.
what are the examples of cognitive biases?
distortion of information - overgeneralisation ( sweeping conclusion based on single incident) & catastrophising ( exaggerate a minor setback + believe it is a complete disaster)
what are negative self-schemas?
‘package of knowledge’ storing information about ourselves and the world around us, developed during childhood. Depressed people possess negative self-schemas, developed from negative experience.
examples of negative self-schema?
self-blame schema = feel responsible for any misfortunes
negative - evaluation schema = constantly reminds them of their worthlessness
what is the negative triad?
a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of three types of negative thinking regardless of reality:
- negative view of the world
- negative view of the self
- negative view of the future
becks theory - evaluation
- led to successful treatments
- reductionist (ignores biological factors)
- evidence supports
what did Ellis suggest?
good mental health is the result of rational thinking and depression results from irrational thoughts.
ABC model
Activating event - event occurs, triggers thoughts
Beliefs - rational interpretation/ irrational
Consequences - outcomes as result of beliefs, rational = healthy emotional outcome/ irrational = unhealthy emotional outcome
strength of ABC model
N - led to successful treatments
A - explanation has formed basis of CBT. all cog aspects can be challenged in CBT, including components of ABC model. therapist can challenge irrational thinking
E - encourages people to think in more rational and constructive ways, which can effectively treat depression + improve peoples quality of life
weakness of ABC model
N - doesnt explain origin of negative thoughts
A - research in this area is correlational, psychologists unable to determine if irrational thoughts cause depression or if depression leads to a negative mindset
E - possible for other factors such as genes and neurotransmitters are the cause of depression and irrational thoughts are a symptom
weakness of ABC model
N - evidence to suggest important role for biological + cognitive factors, and therefore is reductionist. criticised for oversimplifying, leading to validity loss
A - biological approach suggests genetic predisposition to certain mental disorders. research found specific genes linked to bipolar. people with depression have low serotonin levels. SSRI’s found to be effective in treating, further supporting role of bio factors
E - more to depression than simple cognition, therefore is only a partial explanation
strength of Beck’s theory
N - led to successful treatments
A - explanation formed basis of CBT. all cognitive aspects of depression can be challenged in CBT, including comp of negative triad. therapist can challenge faulty thinking
E - encourages people to think in more rational + constructive ways, which can effectively treat depression and improve the quality of life for many people
support for Beck’s theory
N - range of evidence supports idea that depression is associated with faulty thinking, negative self-schemas + cognitive triad of negative, automatic thinking
A - for e.g. Terry who assessed pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability + depression before and after the birth, found that those who had been judged as having high cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer post-natal depression
E - suggests that Beck may be right about cognition causing depression, contrary to what biological psychologists have proposed
weakness of Beck’s theory
N - evidence to suggest important role for biological + cognitive factors, and therefore is reductionist. criticised for oversimplifying, leading to validity loss
A - biological approach suggests genetic predisposition to certain mental disorders. research found specific genes linked to bipolar. people with depression have low serotonin levels. SSRI’s found to be effective in treating, further supporting role of bio factors
E - more to depression than simple cognition, therefore is only a partial explanation
Treating depression - Beck
- cognitive therapy
- help patient to identify negative thoughts using cognitive triad
- patient and therapist work together to challenge irrational thoughts
- discuss evidence for and against
- encouraged to test validity of thoughts, set homework
Treating depression - Ellis
- rational emotive behaviour therapy
- developed ABC model to include dispute and effective
- aim to challenge irrational thoughts
- two types of dispute = logical (questions the logic of thoughts) empirical ( seek evidence for thoughts)
- dispute irrational beliefs, replace with more effective beliefs and attitudes
- homework to challenge beliefs, changing their beliefs
Challenge of CBT- (drugs)
N- biological drug treatment more fast acting in reducing symptoms than CBT
A- anti-depressant work quickly to increase serotonin levels, makes patient feel more uplifted, treating symptoms more quickly with little effort on patients part
E- work fast to relieve intense depression, useful when patient to ill to learn skills for cognitive therapies. CBT could commence when patient alert and motivated. CBT can’t be used as sole treatment for all cases
Support for CBT - evidence
N - large body of evidence to support the effectiveness of CBT in treating depression
A - research by March found CBT was as effective as antidepressants. 327 adolescents with depression were studied. After 36 weeks, 81% of the antidepressant group and 81% of the CBT group had significantly improved, demonstrating effectiveness of CBT
E - however, 86% of the CBT with antidepressant group had significantly improved, suggests that a combination of both treatments may be more effective in treating depression
Weakness of CBT - cognitions
N- CBT criticised for its overemphasis on the role of cognitions as the primary cause of depression
A - CBT doesn’t consider other factors such as social circumstances which might contribute to a persons depression. For example, a person who is suffering from domestic violence or abuse doesn’t need to change their negative/irrational beliefs but in fact needs to change their circumstances
E- therefore, CBT would be ineffective in treating these patients until their circumstances have changed
