Depression : Cognitive Approach To Explaining Depression Flashcards
What does the cognitive model think about depression?
It proposes that individuals who are suffering from depression often have distorted and negative thinking. People who think in this way might be more prone to developing depression.
What does Beck ( cognitive triad ) believe about the cause of depression?
He believes people become depressed because they have a negative outlook and develop negative schemas which dominate their thinking.
These schemas often develop in childhood whereby parents or adults have been overly critical towards them. This continues into adulthood and provides a negative framework, whereby life is viewed in a negative way.
This can cause depressive thoughts.
Give some examples of negative schemas
Self blame : depressed people feel they are responsible for all misfortunes
Ineptness : depressed people expect themselves to fail at everything
Describe the cognitive triad
Stage 1 : Negative thoughts about self
The person has negative thoughts about themselves and might feel worthless and helpless. They criticise themselves at every opportunity.
Stage 2 : Negative thoughts about the world
The negative and distorted thinking continues on a larger scale e.g. I am useless at everything I do -> the statement is more global and negative.
Stage 3 : Negative thoughts about the future
They might think that there future is bleak and negative. This can cause low self esteem.
Such negative thinking according to Beck’s cognitive triad can lead to suicidal thoughts that have initially been caused by negative thinking.
What are the advantages of the cognitive approach by Beck?
It has become very influential over the past 20 years. It seems that distorted and negative thoughts are very common amongst patients who have depression, and these negative thoughts play a key role in the development of the illness.
There have been attempts to combine the cognitive and behavioural approach to form the ‘cognitive behavioural approach’. The CB approach would aim to look at both the cognitive ( negative and irrational thinking ) and behavioural ( classical and operant conditioning and social learning ) elements in order to look at causes of depression.
There is a lot of evident to suggest depression is caused by negative and irrational thinking, as well as the cognitive triad. Terry assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth. It was found that women who had a high cognitive vulnerability ( to think negatively ) were more likely to suffer post natal depression.
What are the limitations of the cognitive triad ?
The cause and effect is not clear. It’s unclear whether the negative thinking causes depression or whether the depression causes the negative thinking. This needs to be investigated further so that psychologists can be sure negative thinking is the cause.
The cognitive approach would criticise the behavioural approach when examining causes of depression. The behavioural approach would state that depression is caused by learning and the environment, whereas the cognitive approach would disagree and state that negative thinking is the cause.
It does not explain how some symptoms of depression might develop. Some depressed patients show symptoms of anger, hallucinations and bizarre beliefs ( e.g. Cotard syndrome where the patient believes they are a zombie). Beck’s theory fails to account for how these symptoms of depression occur.
Describe Ellis’s ABC model
A = activating event : patients record events leading to negative thinking and this is triggered by an event in the environment around them such as exam failure, or getting fired.
B = beliefs : patients record their thoughts associated with the event ( rational or irrational ). This can be that they are useless and stupid for failing the exam.
C = consequences : patients record the emotional response to their beliefs. Irrational beliefs can lead to negative emotions such as feeling upset and thinking about ending their academic studies
What is Mustabatory thinking ?
Ellis thought that mustabatory thinking can cause irrational and negative thinking that can be emotionally damaging and lead to depression.
Examples : I must be loved by everyone, I must excel in all areas otherwise I am worthless
An individual who holds these beliefs is bound to be disappointed or depressed, because these thoughts are too idealistic and the expectations are too high.
What are the positives of Ellis’s ABC model?
There is research to support it. Bates found that depressed participants who were given negative thought statements became more and more depressed supporting the view that negative thinking helps to cause depression.
It is based on scientific evidence that permits objective testing. This allows improvement of the model and a greater understanding for the causes of depression as a whole.
There is supporting evidence that people who develop depression in adulthood, tend to experience insecure attachments in childhood. Therefore there seems to be a link with insecure childhood attachments contributing to negative thinking which can cause depression in adulthood.
What are the disadvantages of the ABC model?
It is nor clear whether negative thinking actually causes depression. It could be that depression occurs first ( maybe through genetics ) and this causes the person to think negatively. Cause and effect needs to be established when looking at causes.
It blames the client. It gives the client some power to change the situation and improve their symptoms of depression, however it could mean that situational factors are overlooked e.g. family problems. Instead the psychologist would examine negative and irrational thoughts alone as a cause.
The biological approach would criticise the cognitive approach. The biological approach suggests that genes and neurotransmitters ( low levels of serotonin ) may cause depression. Zhang found that there is a gene related to depression that makes it ten times more likely for someone to develop the illness. This approach would state that biological factors are more likely to cause depression that cognitive factors.
