One Non-Biological Explanation for Uni Polar Depression Flashcards
what is the non-biological explanation for UPD ?
cognitive explanation
what does the cognitive explanation claim ?
faulty/irrational thinking is a symptom of depression but also may be the cause, and becomes a downwards spiral - e.g. if a person believes everyone dislikes them, they may develop negative feelings about themselves which in turn reinforce their perception that everyone dislikes them
what does Beck’s cognitive explanation focus and when what study did it derive from ?
it focuses on faulty cognitions - developed in Beck 1967
what is Beck’s Negative Triad ?
depressed people make three types of cognitive error (faulty cognitions), pessimistic/irrational thoughts
what are the three types of faulty cognitions in beck’s negative triad ?
1) the self
2) the future
3) the world
what is meant by ‘the self’ ?
they believe they are worthless, unattractive, a failure, etc (it conforms their feelings of low self-esteem)
what is meant by ‘the future’ ?
they view the future in an unavoidably negative ways (e.g. ‘I will never get a job…be happy’)
what is meant by ‘the world’ ?
they perceive the world (people, situations, events) as hopeless
where does beck claim faulty cognitions stem from ?
stem from childhood (criticisms and rejection), unrealistic expectation and experience of loss
what does Ellis’ ABC theory focus on and what study was it developed from ?
focuses on irrational thinking and was developed from Ellis 1962
what is ellis’ thoughts on rational and irrational thinking ?
‘rational’ thinking = thinking that allows us to be happy and free of (psychological) pain, anything else is irrational
what does ‘A’ stand for and what does it involve ?
A - activating event
- irrational thoughts are triggered by situations
- depression occurs when negative external events (e.g. failing an exam) activate irrational thoughts and beliefs
what does the ‘B’ stand for ?
Beliefs
- person’s irrational beliefs about the event cause depression, not the event of itself
- the beliefs are mostly self-defeating, so the person interprets the event in the most negative way
what are the three types of irrational beliefs that stem from events (because ellis claims the event itself does not cause depression) ?
1) musterbation (‘I must be perfect’, ‘I must be successful’)
2) utopianism (‘life should always be fair’)
3) I-can’t-stand-it-itis (something not going perfectly is a major disaster)
what does the ‘C’ stand for ?
consequences
- irrational beliefs have emotional and behavioural consequences
- e.g. someone who believes life should always be fair may become depressed when things do not turn out that way, or someone who believes they ‘must always be successful’ may respond badly to failure
what is a strength of beck’s theory ?
it is supported by research
- evans et al. (2005)
what did evans et al. (2005) do ?
measured the self-beliefs of 12,003 women who were 18 weeks pregnant
what were the findings of evans et al. (2005) ?
those with the most negative beliefs were more likely to eventually become depressed than women with positive self-beliefs. a negative self-schema is a risk factor for depression in women
what does evans et al. (2005) suggest ?
suggests these cognitions occurred before the onset of depression, supporting beck’s view that negative beliefs cause the disorder
what is a competing argument to the strength of beck’s theory ?
- other studies do not support causation
- Dohr et al. (1989)
- Brown (2007)
what did Dohr et al. (1989) find ?
found that negative self-beliefs expressed during a depressive episode usually become positive afterwards
what did Brown (2007) find ?
there is much evidence that negative thinking accompanies depression but little evidence it causes depression
what is a weakness of Beck and Ellis’ explanations ?
they are incomplete
- depression is a complex disorder - not all of the symptoms are experienced by everyone, and there are individual differences in severity - some people with depression experience extreme symptoms like hallucinations and delusions
what does the limitation of beck and ellis’ models mean ?
it means it makes it hard to see how the cognitive triad and dysfunctional beliefs can account for the variety of experiences of depression
what is a weakness of Beck’s theory ?
it has validity issues
- Eysenck (1997)
what does Eysenck (1997) argue (part of weakness for beck’s theory)
he argued that the theory does not explain depression, mainly because there is no independent way of establishing the existence of negative schemas
what does Eysenck (1997)’s research mean for beck’s theory ?
means the theory lacks predictive validity because it does not identify risk factors for depression and cannot predict who is likely to become depressed
what does Eysenck (1997) suggest ?
suggests that Beck’s theory may be a better explanation for how depressive episodes are triggered and maintained over time rather than how depression is caused
what is an application of both theories (beck’s theory/model and Ellis’ theory/model) ?
both theories have led to effective treatments for depression
- lipsky et al. (1980)
what does lipsky et al. (1980) support ?
supports Ellis’ view that challenging the irrational beliefs of depressed people can improve their symptoms
what does lipsky et al. (1980) and other research show ?
shows that cognitive techniques successfully treat depression, implying faulty information processing may be at the root of the disorder
