Lewinsohn: Behavioural Depression Flashcards
Classical conditioning?
Operant conditioning?
=we make associations between events or circumstances and mood change, learnt depression
=lack of positive reinforcement directly linked with depression
Seligiman?
=depression occurs as a consequence of learned helplessness
(Passive behaviour shown when we believe punishment is unavoidable)
- Dogs in a cage and could not escape+exposed to electric shocks
- Dogs put into box with low barrier+exposed to electric shocks
Results= some dogs escaped shocks by jumping over barrier, most accepted shocks+did not learn to escape them
Aim?
To compare the amount of ‘positive reinforcement’ received by depressed and non-depressed PPs.
Method?
Longitudinal study over 30 days
Procedure?
- daily self-rating of depression using the ‘Depression Adjective’ test, moods e.g ‘active’ ‘happy’
- completed a self report of 320 pleasant activities on the ‘Pleasant Events Schedule’ such as sports, meditating, yoga
- rated twice on scale of 3, once for pleasantness, once for frequency
Positive reinforcement=taking part in pleasant activities o
PPs?
- 10 diagnosed with depression
- 10 a disorder other than
- 10 ‘normal’ control
Design?
- Independent measures
* quasi
Results?
- significant positive correlations between mood ratings and pleasant activities
- individual differences ranged from 0 to -0.66= more to depression than reinforcement from pleasant activities
Conclusions?
link between reinforcement from pleasant activities and mood, yet further research is needed to identify the individual characteristics that make some more more influenced than others
Strengths?
- longitudinal= more detailed, higher predictive validity
- self report= high ethics as right to withdraw
- standardised
Weaknesses?
- small sample
- social desirability
- assumes correlation=causation
- reductionist
- determinist
Behavioural?
Assumes behaviours shown by individuals suffering from depression are learnt either through conditioning or imitation.
