The Cognitive Approach ro Explaining Depression Flashcards
How does the cog approach explain depression?
generally explains it in terms of faulty and irrational thought processes
What did beck believe depression is caused by?
depression is caused by negative thinking, especially by themselves and that negative thinking comes before the development of depression
What is the negative cognitive triad?
–Beck believed that depression has three components called the cognitive triad; which is a negative view of the self, the world and the future. Beck believed that these negative views interfere with normal cognitive processing, such as memory and problem-solving. Each one feeds into the other
What are the three components of the negative triad?
-The self
-The world
-The future
What is the self?
where individuals see themselves as being helpless, worthless and
inadequate, e.g. ‘I am unattractive, what is there to like in me?’
What is the world (life experiences)
where obstacles are perceived within one’s environment that cannot be dealt with, e.g. ‘I can understand why people do not like me, even my boyfriend left me.
What is the future?
where personal worthlessness is seen as blocking any improvements,
e.g. ‘I am always going to be on my own and nothing will change it’
What do negative thoughts about the self, the world and the future form?
forms an unending, intrusive cycle of depressive thoughts that cannot be controlled by
the thinker
What maintains the negative triad?
Negative schemas, together with cognitive biases maintain the negative triad
What does beck believe depressed people develop?
negative schemas about themselves, which makes them think in this negative way.
Why do negative schema’s develop in childhood and adolescence and what does this cause?
as a result of rejection by parents or friends in the form of criticism and exclusion, or by the loss of a close family
member. Such negative events mould the person’s concept of themselves as unwanted or unloved. This then filters into adulthood providing a negative framework to view life in a pessimistic way.
What is cognitive biases?
-people with negative schemas become prone to making errors in their thinking.
-tend to focus selectively on certain
aspects of a situation and ignore equally relevant information known as
cognitive biases.
e.g. is over generalisation where people with depression make a sweeping conclusion on the basis of a single event
(e.g. he did not smile at me so he must hate me).
What did Ellis believe that depressives do?
mistakenly blame external events for their unhappiness however it is their
interpretation of these events that is to blame for their distress.
What did Ellis propose?
He proposed that the key to depression lay in irrational beliefs.
-According to this model, depression is
produced by the irrational thoughts triggered by unpleasant events.
What is the A is the ABC model?
refers to an activating event: something happens in the environment around you
What is B in the ABC model?
the belief which is held about the event which may be
What is C in the ABC model?
the consequence – rational beliefs lead to healthy emotions whereas irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy emotions.
What causes the consequence?
It is not the activating event that causes the consequence; the consequence is caused by the beliefs about the activating event
