Lesson 9: Cogntive Explanations Of Depression Flashcards
Cognitive explanations of depression
- underlying assumption of the cognitive explanation of depression is that depression is the result of disturbance in ‘thinking’. Depression is a consequence of faulty and negative thinking about events and it can be managed by challenging this faulty thinking
Beck (1967)
Beck theorised that it is a person’s cognitions that create vulnerability for depression
Beck’s cognitive theory (first part)
Faulty information processing (cognitive bias) - when depressed we attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives e.g. winning the lottery but only focusing on the fact the previous winner won more. Cognitive biases are based on overgeneralisations and catastrophising e.g. I have failed in one test and am now gonna fail all my exams.
Becks negative theory (second part)
Negative self schemas - a scheme is a package of ideas and information which acts as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information. A self-schemas is the package of information that we have about ourselves. These schemas develop during childhood and according to Beck, depressed people possess negative self-schemas which may come from negative experiences, for example criticism from parents, peers or even teachers. Examples of negative self schema as ineptness schema - when you expect fail, self-blame schema which makes them feel responsible for their failures and negative self-evaluation schema that constantly reminds them of their worthlessness
Beck’s cognitive theory (third part)
Negative triad - according to beck, due to cognitive biases and negative self-schema, a person develops three types of negative thinking that occur automatically, regardless of the reality that is happening.
1. Negative feelings about themselves
2. Negative feelings about the future
3. Negative views about the world
Strengths of Beck’s model
+ There is evidence depression is associated with cognitive biases negative self schemas and cognitive triad of negative thinking
Grazioli and Terry (2000) studied 65 pregnant women before and after birth. Those showing negative patterns of thinking were more likely to develop post-natal depression. The fact that negative conditions were seen before depression developed suggests that they may have been the cause of their depression.
+ Beck:s theory can be applied to Cognitive Behavioural therapy so this theory has practical application. This means that his theory is a successful explanation of depression. Furthermore, this therapy is extremely successful in treating depression suggesting the theory is strong.
Weaknesses of Beck’s model
- Beck’s negative triad doesn’t explain all aspects of depression - for example, some patients are also very angry and some even suffer hallucinations and delusions. Beck’s theory cannot explain these symptoms thus the theory may lack validity.
Ellis’ ABC Model
Albert Ellis (1962) suggested a different cognitive explanation of depression. He suggested that good mental health results from rational thinking. Therefore, conditions like depression result from irrational thoughts. His ABC model explains how irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and mental state. Activating events in an individual’s life lead to beliefs about these events that have consequences such as feelings and actions.
Components of Ellis’ ABC Model (A)
A - activating event believes that irrational thoughts are triggered by external events. We get depressed when we experience negative events and these trigger irrational beliefs e.g. failing a test or ending a relationship
Components of Ellis’ ABC model (B)
B- Beliefs (belief which is rational or irrational e.g. ‘Musturbation’ belief we must always succeed or achieve perfection, ‘I-can’t-stand-it-it-is’ belief that it is a major disaster whenever something doesn’t go smoothly, ‘utopianism’ beleif life is always meant to be fair’ )
Components of Ellis’ ABC Model (C)
C - consequences (when an activating event triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences e.g. depression)
Strength of ABC model
- There is research to support the idea of the ABC model as a cause of depression. Gates (1999) found that depressed participants who ere given negative thought statements became more and more depressed; supporting the view that negative thinking helps to cause depression.
Weakness of ABC Model
- although the ABC model gives the client some power to change the situation and improve their symptoms of depression; it blames the client for the depression
Overall strengths of cognitive approach 2 depression
- practical application in CBT - cognitive explanations have been used to develop effective treatments for depression, including CBT developed through Beck’s explanation of depression and REBT developed through Ellis’.
- Research evidence to support the cognitive explanations - Cohen et al (2019) tracked the development of 4(3 adolescents regularly measuring their cognitive vulnerability and it was found that cognitive vulnerability predicted their later depression.
Overall weaknesses of cognitive approach 2 depression
- There could be other explanations of depression so the cognitive approach overlooks other factors - there is extensive evidence that depression is linked to genes and neurotransmitters. Research has focused on the role of neurotransmitter serotonin and found lower levels in patients with depression. In addition, drug therapies including SSRIs which increase the level of serotonin are found to be effective in the treatment of depression.
- Cognitive approach does not explain the origins of the irrational thoughts. Most of the research in this area is correlational, psychologists are unable to determine is irrational beliefs are the cause or consequence of depression. It may be that a depressed person develops a negative way of thinking because of their depression not the other way around.
