The cognitve approach to explaining depression

Question 1

What is the cognitive approach?

Answer 1

The term ‘cognition’ means mental processes so this approach focuses on how mental processes affect behaviour

Question 2

What is the negative triad?

Answer 2

Beck proposed that there were three kinds of negative thinking that contribute to becoming depressed- negative views of the world, the future and the self - these negative views lead a person to interpret their experiences in a negative way

Question 3

What is the ABC model?

Answer 3

Ellis proposed that depression occurs when activating event triggers and irrational belief which in turn produces a consequence, an emotional response and later depression - the key to this process is irrational beliefs.

Question 4

What did American psychiatrist Aaron Beck in 1967 suggest?

Answer 4

Suggested the cognitive approach to explaining why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others - in particular it is a persons’ cognitions that create the way you think - Bexley suggested 3 parts to this cognitive vulnerability

Question 5

What is faulty information processing?

Answer 5

When depressed we attend to the negative aspects of the situation and ignore the positives as well as tending to blow small problems out of proportion and thinking in black and white terms

Question 6

What are negative self-schemas?

Answer 6

A schema is a package of ideas and information developed through experience - they act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information so this is a packet of information we have about ourselves so we interpret all information about ourselves in a negative way

Question 7

What is the negative triad?

Answer 7

A person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of three types of negative thinking that occur automatically. When we are depressed we have negative thoughts about the world, self and future

Question 8

What did another American psychiatrist (Ellis) suggest in 1962?

Answer 8

A different cognitive explanation of depression - he proposed that good mental is the result of rational thinking and this allows people to be happy and pain free so to Ellis conditions like anxiety and depression result from negative thoughts

Question 9

How did Ellis define irrational thoughts?

Answer 9

Not as logical or realistic thoughts but any thoughts that interfere with us being happy and pain free

Question 10

What did Ellis use the ABC model to explain?

Answer 10

How irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state.

Question 11

What does ABC stand for?

Answer 11

Activating event
Beliefs
Consequences

Question 12

What is meant by activating event?

Answer 12

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 e.g. ending a relationship may trigger irrational beliefs

Question 13

What is meant by beliefs?

Answer 13

Ellis identified a range of irrational beliefs .He called the belief that we must always succeed or achieve perfection ‘mustrubation’ - this is the belief that it is a major disaster whenever something did not go smoothly
Utopianism is the belief that life is always perfect

Question 14

What is meant by consequences?

Answer 14

When activating event triggers /irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences - e.g. if you believe that you must always succeed and then fail at something this triggers depression.

Question 15

How does it have a good application? (B)

Answer 15

It forms the basis of cognitive behaviour therapy
All cognitive aspects of depression can be identified and challenged and this means a therapist can challenge them and test whether they are true - has a very successful therapy used widely today

Question 16

How does it not explain all aspects of depression?(B)

Answer 16

It explains the basic symptoms of depression but depression is complex e.g some suffers are deeply angry and cant explain it or some hallucinate and it cannot explain these cases

Question 17

Why does it only have a partial application?(B)

Answer 17

Some cases of depression follow an event in someones life - this is called reactive depression and see it as different to normal depression therefore Ellis only applies to some kinds of depression

Question 18

What is the practical application in depression?(E)

Answer 18

It has lead to successful therapy - by challenging the irrational beliefs a person can reduce their depression - this supports the basic theory which suggests that irrational beliefs have some control in depression

Question 19

How does Ellis’ model not explain all aspects of depression?

Answer 19

Although it explains why some people appear to be more vulnerable than others as a result of cognitions it doesn’t explain anger, hallucinations etc

Question 20

What is cognitive primacy (E)?

Answer 20

The idea that emotions are influenced than cognition - this is not always the case e.g. other theories of depression see emotion as stored like energy and released after a negative event

Question 21

What have studies of attachment found?

Answer 21

Those who develop insecure attachments to their parents are more vulnerable to depression in adult hood

Question 22

How does Beck’s theory have good supporting evidence?

Answer 22

A range of evidence supports that depression is associated with faulty information processes, negative self-schemas and cognitive triad of a negative automatic thinking.

Question 23

Give two studies that support Beck?

Answer 23

Grazioli and Terry in 2000 assessed 65 pregnant womens cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth - they found that women judged to have high cognitive vulnerability are likely to suffer postnatal depression
Clark and Back in 1999 reviewed research on this research and concluded solid support for cognitive vulnerability factors - these conditions can be seen before depression develops suggesting that beck might be right about cognition causing depression in some cases