Explaining depression Flashcards
What does the cognitive approach assume?
Behaviours are controlled by thoughts and beliefs
Irrational thoughts can therefore cause abnormal behaviour
Ellis
A
Activating an event
e.g. a failed exam
Ellis
B
Belief- why did the event happen
Rational- I didn’t revise enough
Irrational- I am stupid
Ellis
C
Consequence
Maladaptive- getting depressed
Adaptive- doing more revision
Becks negative triad?
Automatic thoughts linked to depression , negative views about-
Self- can’t succeed
World- they must be successful to be a good person
Future- nothing will change
Hollon and Kendall-
Developed Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire
Measured negative thinking in 114 depressed and non depressed participants- depressed participants scored significantly higher- correlation between negative thinking and depression
Consequence/Cause?
Faulty thinking may be the consequence of depression rather than the cause - depression may be caused by a chemical imbalance which results in negative thinking
Trouble with cognitive approaches?
People begin to believe that they are to blame for their condition
Application?
Has led to REBT and CBT
Biological explanation?
Alternative explanation is that depression is caused by a lack of serotonin hormone
Concept of Becks negative triad?
Cognitive Bias- distort and misinterpret information- mainly focus on negatives rather than positives
Negative self schema?
Developed from childhood- contains all knowledge about self and world
Negative schemas may come from criticism at a young age from parents/ peers
