The Cognitive Approach to Explaining Depression

Question 1

What are the causes of depression?

Answer 1

• Negative thoughts
• Irrational beliefs
• Misinterpretation of event

Question 2

What did Beck suggest?

Answer 2

Cognitive explanation to why people are more vulnerable to depression than others

Question 3

What are the three parts to this cognitive vulnerability?

Answer 3

• Faulty information processing
• Negative self-schemas
• Negative triad

Question 4

Why is faulty information processing a cause of depression?

Answer 4

• Make fundamental errors in logic
• Selectively attend to the negative aspects
• Blow small problems out of proportion

Question 5

What phrase is used to describe the thought process of those with depression?

Answer 5

‘Thinking in black and white’

Question 6

Why is negative self-schemas a cause of depression?

Answer 6

Those suffering interpret all the information about themselves in a negative way

Question 7

What is a self-schema?

Answer 7

A package of ideas that we have about ourselves

Question 8

What is a schema?

Answer 8

A building block of knowledge, a ‘package’ of ideas and information that has developed with experience

Question 9

What did Weissman and Beck (1978) aim to investigate?

Answer 9

The thought processes of depressed people to establish if they make use of negative schemas

Question 10

What was the method of Weissman and Beck (1978)?

Answer 10

• Measured thoughts on a dysfunctional attitude scale (DAS)

- Participants ticked whether they agree or not

Question 11

What was the results of Weissman and Beck (1978)?

Answer 11

-Depressed had more negative assessment

Question 12

What are the three elements of the negative triad?

Answer 12

• Negative view of the self
• Negative view of the world
• Negative view of the future

Question 13

What model did Ellis propose?

Answer 13

The ABC model

Question 14

What does the A stand for in the ABC model?

Answer 14

Activating event

Question 15

Why may depression arise from an activating event?

Answer 15

A negative experience has occurred causing negative and irrational thoughts

Question 16

What does the B stand for in the ABC model?

Answer 16

Beliefs (Irrational)

Question 17

What are different types of irrational beliefs?

Answer 17

• ‘Musterbation’ (Must always succeed)
• ‘I-can’t-stand-it-itis’ (Disaster if things do not go slowly)
• ‘Utopianism’ (World must always be fair and just)

Question 18

What does the C stand for in the ABC model?

Answer 18

Consequence

Question 19

Why may consequences arise?

Answer 19

When an activating event triggers irrational beliefs this causes emotional and behavioural consequences

Question 20

Does Beck’s theory have good supporting evidence?

Answer 20

Yes

Question 21

Does Grazioli and Terry (2000) support Ellis’s theory?

Answer 21

No, it supports Beck’s therapy

Question 22

What did Grazioli and Terry (2000) do/find?

Answer 22

• Assessed 65 pregnant woman for cognitive vulnerability

- Higher vulnerability more likely to suffer post-natal depression

Question 23

Does Beck’s therapy have a practical application?

Answer 23

Formed the basis of CBT

-Explanation translates well into therapy

Question 24

Why is Ellis’s theory only a partial explanation?

Answer 24

Not all depressions arise from an obvious cause but some do

Question 25

Why does the cognitive approach not explain all aspects of depression?

Answer 25

Doesn’t explain why some people have anger associated with their depression or some suffer from hallucination and delusions

Question 26

What is a reactive depression?

Answer 26

Depression occurs as the result of an activating event