Psychological Explanations

Question 1

Freud’s explanation of depression..

Answer 1

Lies in the early relationship with our parents. Freud described depression as “excessive and irrational grief” as a reaction to loss. This loss could be real or imagined loss.

Question 2

Real/imagined loss?

Answer 2

Freud suggested that actual loss (deaths) or imagined loss (loss of job) leads to a person regressing back to childhood when they experienced loss of affection, becoming dependent and clingy.

THE GREATER THE EXPERIENCE OF LOSS AS A CHILD THE GREATER THE AMOUNT OF REGRESSION AS AN ADULT

Question 3

How does loss cause depression?

Answer 3

The individual indentured with the lost person, so they repressed anger towards the lost person is directed inwards towards the self. The inner directed anger reduces the individuals self esteem, and makes him/her vulnerable to experiencing depression in the future.

Question 4

According to Freud a depressive phase occurs also due to

Answer 4

The individuals super ego or conscience being dominant. In contrast, bipolar disorder and hence the manic phase occurs when the individuals ego or rational mind asserts itself

Question 5

Support for Freud

Answer 5

Bowlby’s work on maternal deprivation and separation. Bowlby suggested that early separation or loss can cause problems in forming later attachments. This inability to form loving relationships later in life may result in depression

Question 6

Strengths of Freud

Answer 6

There is empirical evidence
Waller et al found that men who had lost their fathers during childhood scored higher on a depression scale than those fathers who had not died

Question 7

Weaknesses of Freud

Answer 7

Unfalsifiable 
Psychoanalysis has not proven effective 
Deterministic
Contradictory evidence.
Cooper et al - loss probably explains only a relatively small percentage of cases of depression

Question 8

Cognitive explanations

Answer 8

Beck maintained there are three components to depression, which he called the cognitive triad
Negative thoughts on yourself
Negative thoughts on the world
Negative thoughts on the future

Question 9

Negative self schemas

Answer 9

Beck believed that depression prone individuals develop a negative self schema. Possess a set of beliefs and expectations about themselves that are essentially negative and pessimistic

Question 10

Cognitive distortions

Answer 10

Logical errors!
Arbitrary interferences - drawing conclusions on the basis of sufficient or irrelevant evidence
Selective abstraction - focusing on a single aspect of a situation and ignoring others
Personalisation - attributing the negative feelings of others to yourself

Question 11

Strength of cognitive explanations

Answer 11

Cognitive therapy more successful than drug therapy and lower relapse

Question 12

Learned helplessness

Answer 12

Seligman
Dogs were given electric shocks to the feet
One condition - dogs could jump and escape
Second condition - inescapable
FOLLOW UP TRIAL - dogs in inescapable condition made no attempt to escape in escapable condition

Question 13

Problems with learned helplessness

Answer 13

Can’t generalise
Un ethical
Does it really lead to depression

Question 14

Sociocultural explanations

Answer 14

Life events may act as a trigger in individuals who have a genetic predisposition for depression.
Kendler found that the most depressed women were those who had experiences life events and who had a genetic predisposition for depression

Question 15

Support for sociocultural

Answer 15

Brown and Harris studied depressed women in London and found that depression was often preceded by a major life event
However the sample is limited and it is possibly that the life events that affected this group of women may only apply to them and not others

Question 16

Criticisms of sociocultural

Answer 16

Simplistic - ignores biological

Subjective - depends on context

Question 17

Conclusion

Answer 17

Perhaps the diathesis-stress model is most appropriate as it considers both biological and psychological causes of depression