The Cognitive Explanation of Unipolar Depression Flashcards
What does the cognitive explanation believe causes the disorder?
Thinking processes and early experiences that affect these thinking processes
What are schemata?
built up thought experiences of the world that involve developing positive and negative beliefs and attitudes to interpret the world
What will a generalised negative belief pattern do?
Make someone vulnerable to depression
What are cognitive errors?
Faulty patterns of thought and schemata that lead to distorted processing of information
What involvement do negative early experiences have in the explanation?
They may mean that an individual may form dysfunctional beliefs that result in negative schemata
What is the cognitive triad?
Views of self, views of the world and views of the future
How does the cognitive triad affect depression?
If schemata are negative then their cognitive triad is likely to consist of negative thoughts about oneself, the world and the future
What can a trigger later in life do?
Confirm these negative beliefs, e.g losing a job might confirm the faulty belief that you are worthless, triggers activate dysfunctional beliefs
What affect does the way that we think have?
The way we feel and then the way we behave
What would the likely schemata of a depressed person include?
Cognitive schemata, affective schemata, physiological schemata and motivational schemata
What is cognitive schemata?
Seeing actual or threatended loss e.g thinking you will lose everyone around you or actually losing them
What is affective schemata?
Sadness
What is physiological schemata?
Feeling tired and unable to do things
What is motivational schemata?
Helplessness and lack of direction
What is the cognitive bias selective abstraction?
Taking detail out of context and ignoring the overall situation, e.g someone not smiling at you because they are in a rush, but not seeing that they are in a rush and thinking they don’t like you
What is arbitrary reference, the cognitive bias?
Jumping to conclusions that aren’t based on fact
What is the cognitive bias over generalisation?
An overall negative conclusion about all situations based on one situation, e.g not having fun at a social event so you don’t go to any social events ever again
What is the cognitive bias polar reasoning?
Unless everything is perfect, thinking everything is a failure
What do cognitive biases do?
They change perception and trigger anxiety and negative emotions
How does Lewinsohn et al (2001) support the cognitive explanation?
He researched adolescent depression and found that when stressed, dysfunctional attitudes rather than environmental factors were the strongest predictor of depression
How does Hollen et al (2002) support it?
That the effects of CBT appear to last at least as long as those of drug treatment, suggesting that thought processes are involved as CBT addressess and challenges thought processes
What did Watkin and Baracaia (2002) find that supports it?
That knowing more about mental processes helped reduce relapse in those with depression and helped to stop them go over the top with their thinking
What was found by Alloy and Abramson (1999) that supports?
That students with negative thought patterns were more at risk from depression suggesting that thoughts affect their feelings
How does D’Alessandra (2002) support?
Students negative views about their futures were strongly associated wth an increase in depressed mood. Those with dysfunctional beliefs doubted their future.
What is a methodological issue with research around the cognitive explanation?
It can’t be measured using reliable methods like brain scans for example and often requires interviews or self report data that isn’t always valid
How is the cognitive explanation holistic?
It takes into account early experiences, faulty thinking patterns and negative life events rather than isolating the cause of depression to one gene for example
What is a major weakness regarding the gender bias?
It fails to explain the gender bias as women suffer more frequently than men and there is no evidence to suggest that women have a more negative schemata
What is the difficulty with cause and effect?
It might be that depression causes the faulty thinking patterns rather than being the result of them, it could be that monoamines cause depression which then causes negative beliefs
What does the cognitive explanation underestimate?
The effects of current life events like losing a job or ending a relationship
