explaining depression

Question 1

what is cognitive approach?

Answer 1

focused on how mental processes affect our behaviour

Question 2

what did Beck suggest about faulty information?

Answer 2

some people are more prone to depression because of faulty information processing i.e. thinking in a flawed way

Question 3

what are schemas? and when do we use them?

Answer 3

• packages of ideas and information through experience
• we use schemas to interpret the world, so if a person has a negative self-schema they interpret all information about themselves in a negative way.

Question 4

what are the three elements of the negative triad?

Answer 4

• negative view of the world
  negative view of the future
• negative view of the self

Question 5

what is the ABC model?

Answer 5

Ellis proposed that depression occurs when an activating event triggers an irrational belief, producing a consequence.

Question 6

good supporting evidence

Answer 6

Grazioli and Terry assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after giving birth
- found that women suffered from post natal depression
- means cognitions can cause depression before anything can cause it to happen

Question 7

reductionist

Answer 7

the cognitive approach states that if a person has negative thoughts or thinks in a negative way, they are more likely to suffer from a disorder such as depression.
- problem because unhelpful to place a large burden on the patient who is prone to depression and because of this they might feel responsible for their disorder and may not want to go forward with the treatment.

Question 8

ellis model is a partial explanation

Answer 8

some cases of depression follow activating events. Psychologists call this reactive depression and they see this as different from other kinds of depression.
- Ellis’s model tells us something which only applies to some kinds of depression