Paper 2 Terms: Cognitive Explanations for Depression

Question 1

Beck’s Cognitive Theory of Depression

Answer 1

• Cognitive factors are a significant cause of depressive behavior.
• CBT can help with depression.

Question 2

Automatic Thoughts

Answer 2

Sub-vocal semi-conscious narrative: patients with depression often have dark, exaggerated, and irrational automatic thoughts.

Question 3

Elements of Depression

Answer 3

• Cognitive Triad: the self, the world, the future.
• Negative Self-Schemata: a result of traumatic childhood experiences.
• Faulty Thinking Patterns: arbitrary inference, selective abstraction, and personalization.

Question 4

Faulty Thinking Patterns

Answer 4

• Arbitrary Inference: drawing far-fetched conclusions from insufficient evidence.
• Selective Abstraction: noticing one aspect of the experience and ignoring the others.
• Personalization: blaming oneself for everything.

Question 5

Locus of Control

Answer 5

• How an individual sees or experiences something.
• Internal: feel that what happens to them results from their actions.
• External: would focus on something else that does not focus on oneself.