The Cognitive Approach to Explaining Depression Flashcards
What is the basis of depression according to the cognitive approach
Irrational thoughts and negative schema
Who developed the cognitve approach to depression
Albert Ellis
What model did Ellis create to explain depression
The ABC model
What are the components of the ABC model of depression
A refers to activating event
B is belief, rational or otherwise
C is consequence, such as irrational beliefs or unhealthy emotions
Where do the beliefs lie in the cognitive explination of depression
In musturbatory thinking, which is thinking that certain ideas or assumtions must be true in order for an individual to be happy
What three important beliefs did Ellis identify as a part of musturbatory thinking
I must be approved of or accepted by those I find important
I must do well or very well or I am worthless
The world must give me happiness or I will die
What happens to people who hold irrational beliefs according to Ellis
An individual who holds assumptions is bound to be, at the very least dissapointed, and at worst depressed. E.g person not depressed about failing an exam but because they hold an irrational belief surronding that faliure
What did Beck suggest caused a depressed outlook
Aaron Beck suggested that depressed people feel the way they do because they have negatively biased interpretations of the world
According to Beck, when do people aquire negative schema
During childhood
What are the three elements of Beck’s negative triad
The self, the world and the future
What do negative beliefs maintain in the cognitive approach to depression
Negative schemas and biases meantain a negative triad, a pessimistic and irrational view of three key elements
What do negative schemas lead to
systematic cogntive biases in thinking where individuals overgeneralise, drawing sweeping conclusions of self-worth on the basis of negative feedback
How has research shown a link between irrational thinking and depression
Hammen and Krantz found that depressed people make more errors in logic when asked to interpret written material than non-depressed participants did. Bates et al found that depressed participants who were given negative autnomatic thought statements became more and more depressed. However this research is corrolational, and doesn’t confirm that negative thoughts cause depresson, and instead could develop because of depression
Who fed depressed people more depressing thoughts to make them more depressed
Bates et al
Who found that depressed people make more logic errors
Hammen and Krantz
Why might the ‘irrational beliefs’ of depressed people just make them realists
Alloy and Abramson suggest that depressive realists see things as they are, as depressed people gave more accurate estimates of the likelyhood of disaster than normal controls. This is called the sadder but wiser effect
Who suggested that depressed people are just realists
Alloy and Abramson
Why is it positive that the client is responsible for their disorder in the cogntive approch to depression
It gives the client the power to change the way they think, but in turn this could lead the client or therapist to overlook situational factors, for example not considering how life events or family problems may contribute to their mental disorder
What is an alternate explination for depression (other than cognitive approach)
The biological explination of depression suggests that genes and neurotransmitters may cause depression, for example research supports the role of low serotonin levels in depression by finding a gene related to this was 10 times more common in people with depression. Success of drug therapies in depression also indicate neurotransmitters play an important role
What may be a more approapriate model for depression between biological and cognitive
The diathesis stress model, which suggests that indivduals with a genetic vulnerability for depression are more prone to the effects of living in a negative environment, which leads to negative and irrational thinking.
