The cognitve approach to expalining depression Flashcards
WHAT DOES COGNITVE APRROACH MEAN?
The term cognitive means mental processes, so this approach is focused on how our mental processes (thoughts, perception and attention) affect behaviour.
What does negative triad mean?
Beck proposed that there were three kinds of negative thinking that contributed to becoming depressed: negative views of the world, the future and the self. Such negative views lead a person to interpret their experiences in a negative way and so make them more vulnerable to depression.
What does ABC model mean?
Ellis propsed that depression occurs when an activating event (a) triggers an irrational belief (B) which in turn produces a consequence (C), i.e. an emotional response like depression. The key to this process is the irrational belief.
Who is Aaron Beck and what did he suggest?
An American psychiatrist who suggested a cognitive approach to explaining why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others.
In particular it is a person’s cognitions that create this vulnerability i.e the way they think
What three parts did beck suggest to this cognitive vulnerability?
- Faulty information processing
- Negative self-schemas
- The negative triad
What is faulty information processing?
When depressed we attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives . For example, if i was depressed and won 1 million on the lottery, i would focus on the fact that someone won 10 million the other week rather than the positives of winning the 1 million. We tend to blow small problems out of proportion and think in black and white terms
What is negative self-schemas?
A schema is a package of ideas and information developed through experience. they act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information. A self-schema is a package of information we have about ourselves. We use schemas to interpret the world, so if we have a negative self-schema we interpret all information about ourselves in a negative way.
What is the negative triad?
A person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of three types of negative thinking that occur automatically, regardless of the reality of what is happening at the time.
What are the three elements called?
the negative triad
What happens when we’re depressed according to this?
negative thoughts about the world, the future and oneself often come to us
Give an example of a negative view of the world:
An example would be the world is a cold and hard place. this creates the impression that there is no hope anywhere
Give an example of a negative view of the future
An example would be ‘there isnt much chance that the economy will really get better’. such thoughts reduce any hopefulness and enhance depression
Give an example of a negative view of self:
An example would be ‘i am a failure’. such thoughts enhance any existing depressive feelings because they confirm the existing emotions of low self-esteem
How is it having a good supproting evidence a strength?
-EVALUATION
A range of evidence supports the idea that depression is associated with faulty information-processing, negative self schema and the cognitive triad of negative automatic thinking. For example Grazioli and Terry assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth. They found that those women judged to have been high in cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer postnatal depression.
Clark and Beck (1999) reviewed research on this topic and concluded that there was solid support for all these cognitive vulnerability factors. Critically this cognitions can be seen before depression develops, suggesting that back may be right about cognition causing depression, at least in some cases.
How is its practical application in CBT a strength?
-EVALUATION
A further strength of becks cognitive explanation is that it forms the basis of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). All cognitive aspects of depression can be identified and challenged in CBT. These include the components of the negative triad that are easily identifiable. This means a therapist can challenge them and encourage the patient to test whether they are true. This is a strength of the explanation because it translate well into a successful therapy
Why is it doesn’t explain all aspects of depression a limitation?
-EVALUATION
Beck’s theory explains neatly the basic symptoms of depression however depression is complex. Some depressed patients are deeply angry and Beck cannot easily explain this extreme emotion. Some sufferers of depression suffer hallucinations and bizarre beliefs. Very occasionally depressed patients suffer Cotard syndrome. Which is the delusion that they are zombies. Beck’s theory cannot easily explain these cases
WHo is Albert Ellis and what does he suggest?
another american psychiatrist who suggested
a different cognitive explanation of depression - he proposed that good mental health is the result of rational thinking. Rational thinking is defined as thinking in ways that allow people to be happy and free of pain.
How did Ellis define irrational thoughts?
He define it as not as illogical or unrealistic thoughts but as any thoughts that interfere with us being happy and free of pain
What did depression result from according to Ellis?
Anxiety and depression resulted from
irrational thoughts
What did ellis use the ABC model to explain?
How irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state
What does A B and C stand for?
ACTIVATING EVENT
BELIEF
CONSEQUENCE
What is A- Activating event?
Whereas Becks emphasis was on automatic thoughts, Ellis focused on situations in which irrational thoughts are triggered by external events. According to Ellis we get depressed when we experience negative events and these trigger irrational beliefs. Events like failing an important test might trigger irrational beliefs.
What is the B-Belied?
Ellis identified a range of irrational beliefs. He called the belief that we ,must always succeed to achieve perfection ‘masturbation. ‘i can’t stand it it is’, is the belief that it is a major disaster whenever something doesn’t go smoothly. Utopianism is the belief that life is always meant to be fair.
What is the C-Consequence?
when an activating event triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences. For example, if you believe you must always succeed and then fail at something this can trigger depression
Why is Ellis explanation being partial a limitation?
There is no doubt that some cases of depression follow activating events. Psychologist call this reactive depression and see it as a different kind of depression that arises without an obvious cause. This means that Ellis’ explanation only applies to some kinds of depression and is therefore only a partial explanation for depression
How is its practical application to CBT a strength?
A strength of Ellis’ explanation is that, like becks explanation, it has led to a successful therapy. The idea that by challenging irrational negative beliefs a person can reduce their depression is supported by research evidence. This in turn supports the basic theory because it suggests that the irrational beliefs had some role in the depression
How is the fact that it doesn’t explain all aspects of depression a limitation?
Although, Ellis explains why some people appear to be more vulnerable to depression than others as a result of their cognitions,his approach has very much the same limitation as becks. It doesn’t easily explain the anger associated with depression or the fact that some patients suffer hallucinations and delusions
