Psychopathology - The Cognitive Approach To Explaining & Treating Depression Flashcards
What is the cognitive approach?
An approach focused on how our mental processes (thoughts, attention, perception) affect behaviour
Who proposed the negative triad model to explain depression
Beck
What is faulty information processing?
When depressed people tend to see the negative aspects of a situation & ignore the positives
‘black & white’ thinking
What is a schema?
A ‘package’ ideas & information developed through experience & act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information
What does it mean if someone has a negative self schema?
They tend to interpret all information about themselves in a negative way
What is the negative triad?
3 kinds of negative thinking that happen automatically & contribute to depression. They lead a person to interpret their experiences in a negative way & so make them more vulnerable to depression
What is the negative view of the world?
E.g. ‘the world is a cold hard place’ - creates the impression there’s no hope anywhere
What is the negative view of the future?
E.g. ‘there isn’t much chance that the economy will improve’- reduces any hopefulness & enhances depression
What is the negative view of the self?
E.g. ‘I’m a failure’ - enhances depressive feelings because they confirm the existing emotions of low self-esteem
What are the strengths of the negative triad model?
Supporting research - Clark & Beck, Cohen et al (2019) found that cognitive vulnerabilities (e.g. negative view of the future) were not only common with depressed people but that they predicted depression & often preceded it.
Real world application - Can be applied to CBT. They work by altering the kind of cognitions that make people vulnerable to depression & make them more resilient - shows an understanding of cognitive vulnerabilities is useful in more than 2 ways of critical practice
What are the limitations of the negative triad model?
A partial explanation - some aspects of depression aren’t particulary well explained (e.g. extreme anger/hallucinations) although there are similar patterns of cognition - only a partial explanation for depression
Who proposed the ABC model?
Ellis
What is good mental health a result of?
Rational thinking
What is rational thinking?
Thinking in ways that allow people to be happy & free from pain
What causes poor mental health (e.g. depression)?
Irrational thinking
What is irrational thinking?
Any thoughts that interfere with us being happy & free from pain
what is A in the ABC model?
Activating event
What is an Activating event?
When someone experiences negative events which trigger irrational beliefs
What is B in the ABC model?
Beliefs
What is an example of an irrational belief identified by Ellis?
Utopianism - the belief life should always meant to be fair
What is the C in the ABC model?
Consequences
What are consequences?
Emotional or behavioural consequences that occur when an activating event triggers an irrational belief
What is a strength of the ABC model?
Real world application - rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) (vigorously arguing with the depressed person so the therapist can alter the irrational belief that is making them unhappy) evidence shows it does help
What are the limitations of the ABC model?
Only explains reactive & endogenous depression - many cases of depression aren’t traceable to life events & it isnt obvious what makes them depressed - only a partial explanation
Ethics - controversial as it places responsibility on the depressed person themselves - critics say it’s effectively blaming the depressed person which is unfair
