Theories For Depression Flashcards
What is attribution
Attribution is the process of explaining causes of behaviour.
Seligman proposed that some people have a negative attributional style.
There are internal, stable and global attributions which result in depression.
What is Becks Negative Triad
Beck proposed that we learn negative schemas throughout life. These schemas are reactivated during new situations
He proposed a negative triad Depressed people have negative thoughts schemas on=
self, the world, and the future.
What is faulty thinking
The cognitive approach sees depression as caused by faulty or irrational thinking.
When a person is depressed they focus on the negative and ignore positives and think in black-and-white terms.
This creates feelings of hopelessness and depression. Like they put themselves in a box
What is a negative schema and what would a person think if they had this
Schemas are mental frameworks containing ideas and information developed through experience.
Having a negative self-schema means you are likely to interpret all information about yourself in a negative way.
What is learned helplessness ( the role of nurture)
Seligman suggested that a negative attributional style is learned.
An unpleasant experience makes you try to escape but if you can’t escape, you learn to give up trying. This is called ‘learned helplessness’.
State 2 strengths of the psychological explanation for depression
One strength is that there is research support for learned helplessness.
Seligman has demonstrated the process of learned helplessness. Dogs learned to react to challenge by ‘giving up’. (Describe selgimans study)……
Therefore, this research supports his explanation of depression due to negative attributions.
One strength is that the cognitive explanation leads to ways of treating depression.
Cognitive behaviour therapy teaches people to think differently replacing faulty, irrational thinking with rational thinking to help relieve depression.
Therefore, the explanation leads to successful ways to help people with depression.
One weakness of the psychological explanation for depression
One weakness is that negative beliefs may simply be realistic rather than depressing.
Alloy and Abramson found that depressed people gave more accurate estimates of the likelihood of a disaster than ‘normal’ people (‘sadder but wiser’).
Therefore, a negative attributional style may not be all bad.
Describe Martin Seligman’s study of learned helplessness
Martin Seligman (1972) demonstrated learned helplessness (see left) in a study using three groups of dogs.
Group 1- each dog was placed in a harness and later released.
Group 2 and 3 - each group 2 dog was placed in a harness with a group 3 dog. The dogs were given electric shocks but only the group 2 dog could push a lever to stop the shock.
Later all the dogs were placed in a box where shocks were occasionally delivered but they could easily escape by jumping over a partition. The group
1 and 2 dogs learned to do this but most of the group 3 dogs didn’t. These dogs just lay down passively and whined when they were shocked. They had previously learned that nothing they did had any effect on shocks.
They had learned to be helpless.
What does SSRI stand for
Selective serotonin re uptake inhibitor
What does the SSRI do
Low levels of serotonin may cause depression, therefore increasing serotonin levels may treat depression.
SSRIs selectively target serotonin at the synapse.
SSRIs inhibit the reuptake of the serotonin molecules.
Describe the presynaptic neuron in terms of serotonin
Serotonin is stored at the end of a transmitting (presynaptic) neuron in sacs called vesicles.
The electrical signal travelling through the neuron causes the vesicles to release serotonin into the synaptic cleft.
Describe the synaptic cleft in terms of serotonin
Serotonin locks into the postsynaptic receptors, chemically transmitting the signal from the presynaptic neuron.
Describe reuptake in terms of serotonin
Normally serotonin is taken back into the presynaptic neuron, broken down and reused.
SSRIs block this reuptake so when new serotonin is released it adds to the amount held in the synaptic cleft.
State 3 evaluation points for antidepressants
One weakness is that SSRIs have serious side effects.
The side effects include nausea, insomnia, dizziness, weight loss or gain, anxiety and, most seriously, suicidal thoughts.
Side effects mean that people stop taking the drugs, affecting the effectiveness of drug therapies.
A weakness of antidepressant medication is that the evidence for the effectiveness of them is questionable.
Research by Asbert shows that the serotonin levels of depressed people may not actually be that different from the normal population.
This suggests that the effectiveness of the drug may not be related to serotonin. It may be a placebo effect.
A weakness of antidepressant medication is that it is regarded as a reductionist explanation.
Antidepressant medication targets serotonin (and sometimes noradrenaline) so focuses on only one kind of factor.
This suggests that other treatments are not necessary but a more successful treatment might include both biological and psychological approaches (a holistic approach)
What is a neurotransmitter
Messages travel along a neuron electrically but the message is transmitted chemically across the synapse by neurotransmitters.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which has been linked to several behaviours including depression.
How do high levels of serotonin effect the body
High levels of serotonin in the synaptic cleft means the postsynaptic neuron is stimulated, improving mood.
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How do low levels of serotonin effect the body
Low levels at the synapse means less stimulation of the postsynaptic neuron, resulting in a low mood
What are some other effects of serotonin other than mood
Serotonin also affects memory, sleep and appetite.
These are linked to the characteristics of depression, e.g. lack of concentration, disturbed sleep and reduced appetite.
What are some reasons for low levels of serotonin
Genes may cause low serotonin levels where someone inherits a poor ability to produce serotonin.
Diet (an environmental influence) may cause low levels of tryptophan, a key ingredient of serotonin. High-protein foods and carbohydrates contain tryptophan.
Evaluate the biological explanation for depression
One strength of the biological explanation of depression is that there is supporting research evidence.
McNeal and Cimbolic found lower levels of serotonin in the brains of people with depression.
This suggests that there is a link between low levels of serotonin and depression.
One weakness of neurotransmitter explanations is low levels of serotonin could be an effect of being depressed.
Thinking sad thoughts and having difficult experiences could cause low serotonin levels.
This means low levels of serotonin may be an effect of psychological experiences rather than the cause of them.
One weakness is that depression may not be solely caused by abnormal levels of neurotransmitters.
Some people with low levels of serotonin don’t have depression and some people with depression don’t have low levels of serotonin.
This means that the neurotransmitter explanation isn’t enough on its own.
What does the cognitive in CBT focus on
CBT focuses on what a client thinks.
Negative, irrational or faulty thinking causes depression because people tend to catastrophise and think in all-or-nothing terms.
Aim of therapist is to change this to rational thinking to reduce depression.
What does behaviour in CBT focus on
CBT also aims to change behaviour indirectly through changing thinking.
Direct change to behaviour, e.g. behavioural activation where a pleasant activity is planned each day, creates more positive emotions and mood.
What is disputing
‘Disputing’ is used to deal with the negative and irrational thoughts. The client’s irrational thoughts are challenged.
More rational thinking leads to greater self-belief and self-liking.
Where the therapist deals with or contests irrational thoughts
Give an example of how therapists deal with irrational thoughts
Any negative emotions experienced are recorded in a ‘thought diary’, where the client also records the ‘automatic’ thoughts created by these emotions. The client rates how much they believe in these thoughts.
A rational response to the automatic thoughts is then recorded and rated.
Evaluate CBT
One strength of using CBT to treat depression is that it has lasting effectiveness.
The ‘tools’ learned in CBT to help challenge irrational thoughts can help the client deal with future episodes of depression.
Therefore this therapy offers a long-term solution where they can draw on the skills they learned in the future.
One weakness is that it takes a long time and thought for CBT to be successful.
Therapy takes months, homework is expected so a lot of effort is needed in comparison to just taking a pill.
This means that many people drop out or fail to engage enough for it to work.
A strength of CBT is that it is holistic.
CBT focuses on treating the whole person and what they think/feel.
This may be preferable because it deals with the core symptoms of depression (e.g. feeling sad).
