Depression - Becks Negative Triad

Question 1

Beck suggests

Answer 1

Depressed people see the world more negatively and process thoughts differently
- negative views about themselves, their future and the world.
Negative schemas from childhood = negative triad of thoughts.

Question 2

3 stages

Answer 2

-cognitive bias
-negative schemas
-negative triad

Question 3

Cognitive bias

Answer 3

See the negative in everything
-distort/ misinterpret info
-their mind won’t accept good news so they catastrophise everything

Question 4

Negative schemas

Answer 4

Negative schemas from childhood
-from when people were critical = lower self esteem
-provide negative framework in adult life view life as bad

Question 5

Negative triad

Answer 5

Cognitive bias and negative schemas maintain negative triad (negative and or relational view of themselves)

Negative view of the world, yourself and the future

Question 6

Beck study

Answer 6

Method - interview
Sample 50 pp 34 women 16 men with depression
-compared with control group 31 w/o depression
-matched pairs

Question 7

Results and conclusion

Answer 7

Themes in depressed people - low self esteem, self-blame, anxiety, regard selves as inferior in attractiveness and intelligence.
- these thoughts tended to be automatic and persistent

Conclusion - study supports becks theory that people w depression think differently than people w/o.

Question 8

Evaluation of study

Answer 8

✔️- matched pairs, involved men and women so generalisable to both

✖️- small sample size had to generalise and less valid
-interviews may give socially desirable answers which makes findings less reliable
-retrospective data