The cognitive approach to explaining depression Flashcards
How does Beck’s approach explain depression?
Some people are more vulnerable to depression then others , in particular it is a persons cognitions that create these vulnerabilities. (Beck, 1967)
What are the three parts to cognitive vulnerability?
Faulty information processing
Negative self-schema
The negative triad
What is Faulty information processing?
When depressed people focus on the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives. Focus on “black and white thinking”.
What is a Negative self-schema?
A schema is a “package” of ideas and information developed through experience. They act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information. If a person has a negative self-schema they interpret all information about themselves in a negative way.
What is Beck’s negative triad?
a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of three types of negative thinking that occurs automatically.
1) Negative view of the world: cold, hard place no hope anywhere
2) Negative view of the future: hopelessness (e.g. economy won’t improve)
3) Negative view of the self: low self esteem (e.g. I am a failure)
What did Ellis propose?
The ABC Model
What is Ellis’ explanation for the cognitive explanation of depression?
He proposed that good mental health is the result of rational thoughts, happy and free from pain. Poor mental health (anxiety and depression) results from irrational thoughts.
What is the ABC model?
A- Activating Event: Irrational thoughts are triggered by external events (failing a test)
B- Beliefs: Irrational beliefs, the belief that we must achieve perfection is “musturbation”, major disaster when something doesn’t go smoothly
C- Consequences: When an activating event triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences like depression
Evaluation of Beck’s negative triad (brief)
strength - supporting research Clark + Beck and Cohen et al
strength - has applications in screening and treatment for depression
Evaluation of Beck’s negative triad
one strength of Beck’s cognitive model of depression is the existence of supporting research. Cognitive vulnerability refers to a way of thinking that may predispose a person to becoming depressed (faulty information processing, negative self-scheme and cognitive triad). Clark & Beck concluded that not only were these cognitive vulnerabilities more common in depressed people but they preceded the depression. Cohen et al confirmed this in their study in which they tracked development of 473 adolescents and found that showing cognitive vulnerability predicted later depression. Therefore, this shows that there is an association between cognitive vulnerability and depression.
A further strength of Beck’s cognitive model is its applications in screening and treatment of depression. Cohen et al concluded that assessing cognitive vulnerability allows psychologists to screen young people, identifying those most at risk of developing depression in the future and monitoring them. Understanding cognitive vulnerability can also be applied to CBT by altering the kind of cognitions that make people vulnerable to depression, making them more resilient to negative life events. Therefore, understanding of cognitive vulnerability is useful in more than one aspect of clinical practice.
Evaluation of Ellis’s ABC Model (brief)
strength - real world application, REBT
weakness - only explains reactive depression and not endogenous depression
Evaluation of Ellis’s ABC model
One strength of this model is its real-world application in the psychological treatment of depression. Ellis’s approach to cognitive therapy is called rational emotive behaviour therapy or REBT. The idea of REBT is by arguing with a depressed person the therapist can alter their irrational beliefs that are making them unhappy. There is evidence to support the idea that REBT can change negative beliefs and relieve symptoms of depression. This means that REBT has real world value.
A weakness of this model is that it only explains reactive depression and not endogenous depression. Ellis’s model focuses on how depression is triggered by activating events, however many cases of depression are not traceable to life events (Activating events) and it is not obvious what leads the person to become depressed at a particular time. This type is called endogenous depression. Ellis’s ABC model is less useful for explaining endogenous depressions and is therefore only a partial explanation of depression.
