evaluation of the explanation of depression

Question 1

it has good supporting evidence

Answer 1

range of evidence supports the idea that depression is associated with faulty info processing, negative, self-schemas and the cognitive triad of negative automatic thinking

e.g. Grazioli and Terry (2000) assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth

Question 2

what were the findings from Grazioli and Terry study

Answer 2

women judged to have been high in cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer post-natal depression

Clark and Beck (1999) reviewed research on this topic and concluded that there was solid support for all these cognitive vulnerability factors

Question 3

what does it mean when CBT has practical application

Answer 3

a further strength of Beck’s cognitive explanation is that is form the basis of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)

all cognitive aspects of depression can be identified and challenged in CBT
These include the component of the negative triad that are easily identified

This means a therapist can challenge them and encourage the patient to test whether they are true

THIS IS A STRENGTH OF THE EXPLAINATION BECAUSE IT TRANSLATES WELL INTO A SUCCESSFUL THERAPY

Question 4

what does it mean when we say that CBT doesn’t explain all aspects of depression

Answer 4

Beck’s theory explains neatly the basic symptoms of depression however depression is complex

Beck can’t explain this extreme emotion e.g. some sufferers of depression suffer from hallucination and bizarre beliefs

very occasionally depressed patients suffer Cotard syndrome, the delusion that they are zombies (Jarrett 2013) Beck’s theory cannot easily explain these cases

Question 5

what does it mean when we say that Ellis’s ABC model is a partial explanation for depression

Answer 5

no doubt that some cases of depression follow activating events
Psychologists call this reactive depression and see it as different from the kind of depression that arises without an obvious cause

This means that Ellis’s explanation only applies to some kinds of depression and is therefore only a partial explanation for depression

Question 6

what does it mean when we say that there is practical application in Ellis ABC model

Answer 6

strength of Ellis’s explanation is that it has led to successful therapy

the idea of challenging irrational negative beliefs, a person can reduce their depression is supported by research evidence (e.g. Lipsky et al 1980)

This in turn supports the basic theory because it suggests that irrational beliefs had some role in the depression