Individual Differences - The Cognitive Approah to Abnormality

Question 1

What does the cognitive approach assume?

Answer 1

Abnormal behaviour is caused by abnormal thought processes or irrational and distorted ways of thinking.

Question 2

Give examples of irrational thinking.

Answer 2

Selective thinking – Focusing on negative details or events whilst ignoring positive ones.
Overgeneralisation – Drawing sweeping conclusions based on a single incident.

Question 3

When does this irrational thinking become a problem?

Answer 3

When it affects behaviour.

Question 4

Describe the link between depression and errors in logic.

Answer 4

Depressed people tend to draw illogical conclusions when they evaluate themselves. These negative thoughts lead to negative feelings, which can result in depression.

Question 5

What did Beck identify?

Answer 5

Three negative schemas that he said were typical of people suffering from depression. These three components interact and the person becomes stuck in a vicious cycle and becomes obsessed with negative thoughts.

Question 6

What three components that are part of the cognitive triad?

Answer 6

Negative views about yourself, the future, and the world.

Question 7

What is a negative view about yourself?

Answer 7

‘I’m worthless and everyone hates me.’

Question 8

What is a negative view about the future?

Answer 8

‘I will always be worthless and everybody will always hate me.’

Question 9

What is a negative view about the world?

Answer 9

‘Everybody hates me and everyone thinks I’m worthless.’

Question 10

What is a positive about the cognitive approach?

Answer 10

Research has supported this. Perez et al (1999) found that participants suffering major depression pay significantly more attention to unhappy words than happy ones.

Question 11

What are problems with the cognitive approach?

Answer 11

• Difficult to show that cognitive processes CAUSE a disorder. When somebody seeks help, they already have the disorder and it is not possible to measure their cognitive processes BEFORE the disorder.
• Ignores biological and genetic factors.
• Approach blames individuals for their psychological problems and believes that people just need to change the way they think about themselves and those around them to get better.