EXPLANATIONS FOR DEPRESSION (LEARNED HELPLESSNESS, SELIGMAN)

Question 1

How does Seligman explain depression?

Answer 1

• Through adverse life experiences, learned helplessness, and negative attriubutional styles.

Question 2

What is learned helplessness?

Answer 2

• A psychological condition in which an individual after experiencing repeated negative or uncontrollable events.
• Develops a belief that they have no control over their situation leading to resignation to circumstances (even when opportunities for improvement exist)

Question 3

What causes learned helplessness?

Answer 3

• Experiencing repeated negative or uncontrollable events (trauma)
• Generalising this helplessness to other areas of life (generalisations)

Question 4

How can learned helplessness cause negative attributional styles?

Answer 4

• A person who experiences repeated negative experiences/ had a difficult upbringing.

Question 5

What are attributional styles?

Answer 5

• How people explain the causes of events (paticularly sucesses and failures) which can be based on feelings of control, stability, or belief that the event is applicable to all or specific events.

Question 6

Locus of control- attributional styles

Answer 6

Internal or eternally caused
Internal: “I failed because I’m not smart.”
External: “I failed because the test was unfair.”

Question 7

Stability- attributional style

Answer 7

Permanent or temporary cause
Stable: “I’ll always be bad at math.”
Unstable: “I didn’t study enough this time.”

Question 8

Global vs specific- attributional styles

Answer 8

• Does the cause apply to many situations (global) or just one (specific)

Global: “I’m bad at everything.”
Specific: “I’m bad at algebra, but good at writing.

Question 9

What was the aims of Seligman (1988) study into attributional styles?

Answer 9

To investigate whether attributional styles could predict depressive symptoms.

Question 10

Methology- Seligman (1988)

Answer 10

• Self-report method
• Correlational study
• Use of BDI, ASQ

Question 11

Describe the sample of Seligman (1988)

Answer 11

• Experimental groups: Clinical group vs non clinical group. 61 ppts total.
• Clinical group: All from an American outpatient clinic, all experiencing a depressive episode. Mixed genders. Mean age of 36. 39 depressive patients. 12 bipolar patients.
• Non-clinical group: 10 pptts

Question 12

Describe the procedure?

Answer 12

1. Completed BDI
2. Completed Attributional Style Questionnaire- 12 hypothetical good and bad events, ppts required to say who/what was responsible for event).
3. Rate each cause on a 7 point scale internal, stability, globally.

Question 13

Results?

Answer 13

• Bipolar, depressive patients had a more pessimistic, negative attributional style than control.
• The more the severe the BDI scores, the worser the pessimism on the ASQ.
• Correlation between improvements in BDI and improved attributional styles in depressive patients undergoing CBT.

Question 14

Strengths/ weaknesses of Seligman’s (1988)?

Answer 14

• Strength = Standardised questionnaires, inc replicability, reliability.
• Weakness- Reliance on self-report measures (social desirability)