Psychopathology: Explaining Depression Flashcards
what’s Beck’s cognitive theory of depression?
he suggested a cognitive approach to explaining why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others. it’s a person’s cognitions that create this vulnerability. He suggested 3 parts to this.
what’s faulty information processing?
when depressed, we attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives. we also tend to blow small problems out of proportion and have ‘black and white thinking’.
what’s negative self-schemas?
a schema is a package of ideas and information developed through experience. they act as a mental framwork for interpretation of sensory information. a self-schema is the package of information about ourselves. we interpret ourselves in a negative way.
what’s the negative triad?
a person develops dysfunctional views because of 3 types of negative thinking that occurs automatically regardless of what is happening at this time. negative view of the world, negative view of the future and negative view of the self.
what’s Ellis’s ABC model?
he suggested a different cognitive explanation. he proposed that good mental health is a result of rational thinking. he belived depression was due to irrational thinking (illogical and unrealistic). these thoughts affect behaviour and emotional state. Activitating events - situations that trigger the irrational thinking. Beliefs - irrational beliefs. Consequences - emotional and behavioural consequences.
what’s the supporting evidence for Beck’s theory? (A03)
Grazioli + Terry assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth. they found the women judged for having high cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer post-natal depression.
how doesn’t Beck’s theory explain all aspects of depression?
it explains the basic symptoms of depression but depression is complex. some depressed patients are deeply angry and Beck can’t explain this extreme emotion. some sufferers have hallucinations and bizarre beliefs that can’t be explained by Beck.
what’s the practical application of Ellis’s model? (A03)
it has led to successful CBT. the idea that challening irrational negative beliefs, a person can reduce their depression is supported by research evidence. this in turn supports the basic theory because it suggests that the irrational belief had some role in depression.
how is Ellis’s model a partial explanation? (A03)
there’s no doubt that some cases of depression follow activating events. this is called reactive depression and it’s seen as different from the kind of depression that arises without obvious cause. this means Ellis’s explanation only applies to some kinds of depression.
