The Cognitive Explanation of Unipolar Depression

Question 1

What does the cognitive explanation believe causes the disorder?

Answer 1

Thinking processes and early experiences that affect these thinking processes

Question 2

What are schemata?

Answer 2

built up thought experiences of the world that involve developing positive and negative beliefs and attitudes to interpret the world

Question 3

What will a generalised negative belief pattern do?

Answer 3

Make someone vulnerable to depression

Question 4

What are cognitive errors?

Answer 4

Faulty patterns of thought and schemata that lead to distorted processing of information

Question 5

What involvement do negative early experiences have in the explanation?

Answer 5

They may mean that an individual may form dysfunctional beliefs that result in negative schemata

Question 6

What is the cognitive triad?

Answer 6

Views of self, views of the world and views of the future

Question 7

How does the cognitive triad affect depression?

Answer 7

If schemata are negative then their cognitive triad is likely to consist of negative thoughts about oneself, the world and the future

Question 8

What can a trigger later in life do?

Answer 8

Confirm these negative beliefs, e.g losing a job might confirm the faulty belief that you are worthless, triggers activate dysfunctional beliefs

Question 9

What affect does the way that we think have?

Answer 9

The way we feel and then the way we behave

Question 10

What would the likely schemata of a depressed person include?

Answer 10

Cognitive schemata, affective schemata, physiological schemata and motivational schemata

Question 11

What is cognitive schemata?

Answer 11

Seeing actual or threatended loss e.g thinking you will lose everyone around you or actually losing them

Question 12

What is affective schemata?

Answer 12

Sadness

Question 13

What is physiological schemata?

Answer 13

Feeling tired and unable to do things

Question 14

What is motivational schemata?

Answer 14

Helplessness and lack of direction

Question 15

What is the cognitive bias selective abstraction?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

What is arbitrary reference, the cognitive bias?

Answer 16

Jumping to conclusions that aren’t based on fact

Question 17

What is the cognitive bias over generalisation?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What is the cognitive bias polar reasoning?

Answer 18

Unless everything is perfect, thinking everything is a failure

Question 19

What do cognitive biases do?

Answer 19

They change perception and trigger anxiety and negative emotions

Question 20

How does Lewinsohn et al (2001) support the cognitive explanation?

Answer 20

He researched adolescent depression and found that when stressed, dysfunctional attitudes rather than environmental factors were the strongest predictor of depression

Question 21

How does Hollen et al (2002) support it?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

What did Watkin and Baracaia (2002) find that supports it?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

What was found by Alloy and Abramson (1999) that supports?

Answer 23

That students with negative thought patterns were more at risk from depression suggesting that thoughts affect their feelings

Question 24

How does D’Alessandra (2002) support?

Answer 24

Students negative views about their futures were strongly associated wth an increase in depressed mood. Those with dysfunctional beliefs doubted their future.

Question 25

What is a methodological issue with research around the cognitive explanation?

Answer 25

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

Question 26

How is the cognitive explanation holistic?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

What is a major weakness regarding the gender bias?

Answer 27

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

Question 28

What is the difficulty with cause and effect?

Answer 28

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

Question 29

What does the cognitive explanation underestimate?

Answer 29

The effects of current life events like losing a job or ending a relationship