Lecture 1 - Competing Psychological Models of Depression

Question 1

What were the four humors Galen stated contributed to the character of man?

Answer 1

Blood, Phlegm, Yellow Bile, Black Bile

Question 2

Following modification of Galen’s original theory, which two temperaments were thought to link to depression?

Answer 2

Phlegmatic - sluggishness and inactivity

Melancholic (word deriving from greek for black bile) - shy, resentful, apprehensive, depressed

Question 3

Which two historical hierarchies have been linked to categorising different emotions?

Answer 3

Galen’s Hierarchy of Spirits (Vapours):

• Brain (containing animal spirits i.e. soul)
• Heart (containing vital spirits)
• Liver (containing natural spirits)

“Hierarchy of souls” - Static Hierarchy of Nobility (Reisch 1517)

• Brain (intellectual, will, memory)
• Heart (sensitive soul, perception & emotional abilities)
• Liver (vegetative soul, nutritive, generative & growth abilities)

Question 4

How was depression reflected in culture during Renaissance periods?

Answer 4

Commonly depression was reflected as a positive trait symbolising intellect & creation. Notably Albert Druer in art.

Question 5

Which phenomenon of manic-depressive illness did Kraepelin describe and is still valid today?

Answer 5

Mixed states.

Kraepelin detailed that three core symptoms of manic-depression can be present/absent at different levels giving rise to mixed states.

Question 6

What were the three core symptoms of depression Kraepelin described?

Answer 6

Disturbance of thought (inhibition)
Empty mood
Disturbance of will/volition (inability)

Question 7

How did Freud describe how depression differentiated from grief or sadness? (1917 mourning & melancholia)

Answer 7

Freud stated that self blame categorised depression.

Freud believed that an ambivalence to deceased people resulted in unconscious anger which would then be turned inwards resulting in self-blame and depression (“melancholia”)

Question 8

Which theory did Abramson, Seligman and Teasdale come up with as a reformulation of learned helplessness?

Answer 8

Revised Attribution Theory
This stated that humans are driven by their desire to understand events.
Depression arises from particular attributions made about life events.

Question 9

How does the revised learned helplessness model describe how depression may arise?

Answer 9

Depression arises from the expectation of noncontingency between behaviour and a desirable/averse outcome (uncontrollability).

This expectation of noncontingency results in four deficits. Cognitive (predicts future uncontrollability & unable to learn solutions), Motivational (blunting of voluntary responses), Self-Esteem, Affect

The participant predicts future noncontingency based on prior attributions made from being in a helpless position. These attributions lead towards a participant an expectation of future noncontingency

Question 10

In what way does the revised learned helplessness theory describe a vulnerability to depression may arise?

Answer 10

By having a global, stable and internal attributional style.
That is to say attributions made will cover a range of scenarios, will not change in time, and be due to personal deficits.

Self-blaming ➜ increased guilt ➜ decreased self worth

Question 11

In what way does the revised learned helplessness model describe a vulnerability to depression may arise?

Answer 11

By having a global, stable and internal attributional style.
That is to say attributions made will cover a range of scenarios, will not change in time, and be due to personal deficits.

Question 12

How do negative internal and external attributions affect how helplessness is described?

Answer 12

Negative internal attributions ➜ personal helplessness (no response in behaviour could control the outcome)

Negative external attributions ➜ universal
helplessness (no response in the behaviour of others/ a behaviour in their repertoire could control the outcome)

Question 13

Which scale can be used to assess a depressive attributional style as described by the learned helplessness model?

Answer 13

Attributional style questionnaire

Description: This questionnaire asks participants about 12 life events (6 positive, 6 negative) followed by 4 questions.

Questions are scored on the basis of internal/external, global/specific, stable/unstable

Question 14

How would the attributional style questionnaire indicate a vulnerability for depression?

Answer 14

If the participant demonstrates a tendency for global, stable & internal attributions for negative events and not for positive events.

A learned helplessness style

Question 15

What are the two domains in the dysfunctional attitudes scale?

Answer 15

Perfectionism/Performance

Dependency

Question 16

How does a mood priming procedure task support the differential activation hypothesis for depression?

Answer 16

Participants with remitted depression were played a sad piece of music (mood priming procedure)

Scores in the dysfunctional attitudes scale were taken before and after.

The difference in these scores reflects “cognitive reactivity”

High cognitive reactivity scores (i.e. increase in dysfunctional attitudes following mood priming) predicted later episodes.

This supports the idea that a pessimistic cognitions triggered by negative mood states may be a hallmark of depression.

Question 17

Name some limitations of PANAS, Attributional style questionnaire (ASQ), Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS)

Answer 17

PANAS - incorporates a range of emotions but assumes only their positive or negative valence matters for depression

ASQ - Different life events which may be more or less emotionally relevant for people

DAQ - participants responses are likely to be strongly influenced by degree of depressive symptoms. Hard to assess underlying attitudes given the effect of mood

Question 18

How can the implicit association task measure self esteem?

Answer 18

Participants are asked to differentiate words whether they are pleasant/unpleasant and relating to self/other

Two test blocks then ask participants to sort words on the basis that they relate to:

• Self/pleasant and other/unpleasant
• Self/unpleasant and other/pleasant

The idea is that if participants have a poor implicit self-esteem the speed they sort self/unpleasant words will be faster than the time they sort self/pleasant words. However Zahn & Lythe showed this not to be the case and instead explicit self esteem measures (Rosenberg) were lower in remitted depression and contributed to recurrence

Question 19

How did Roland demonstrate self-blaming biases are present in remitted depression?

Answer 19

Studied 100 remitted depressed patients and 70 healthy controls.
Participants were given a scenario and asked to report if they would feel positive/negative and if this would be towards self/other.

A self-blaming bias was calculated: percentage of trials with negative self blame - percentage of trials with other blame

➽ Participants with remitted depression had a higher self blame bias compared to healthy controls.

No differences in positive/negative affect found (i.e. remitted depression not more likely to experience negative affect).

Evidence for learned helplessness and not for positive and negative affect models

Question 20

How does Bowlby understand depression?

Answer 20

Attachment theory: the making and breaking of affectional bonds (attachment experiences with caregivers) can shape expectancies about the self and others

Question 21

What is the relationship between cognition and affect according to Beck?

Answer 21

• Distorted ideas could occur before affect, but also there could be a reciprocal interaction between cognition and affect

Question 22

What did Beck find in common amongst depressive patients?

Answer 22

deviation from logical and realistic thinking, such as the following ideations:
• Low self-evaluation
• Ideas of deprivation
• Exaggeration of problems and difficulties
• Self-criticisms and Self-commands
• Wishes to escape or die

Question 23

Elements of Beck’s cognitive triad:

Answer 23

Negative views of:

• Self
• Experiences
• Future: pessimism towards own future (nihilistic)

Question 24

According to the Social Origins of Depression model, which are the vulnerability factors that make women more susceptible to developing depression?

Answer 24

• Early loss of mother
• Lack of adequate confident
• Unemployment
• Caring for young children

this vulnerability is mediated by low self-esteem and hopelessness

Question 25

How did Beck explain vulnerability to depression?

Answer 25

Cognitive vulnerability:
- themes: low self-evaluation, wishes to escape or die, self criticism and self-commands, ideas of deprivation, exaggeration of problems and difficulties

• distortions (cognitive triad): negative view of self, current experiences, and the future
• triggers in line with predominant pole: perfectionism or dependency

Question 26

According to the PANAS, which type(s) of affect is(/are) necessary to measure anxiety?

Answer 26

Negative affect only

Question 27

Which type of testing method is best to assess real-life decisions?

Answer 27

Gambling tasks -explicit tests and implicit tests should be used for other objectives.