AO1 - Cognitive Explanations of Depression

• According to the cognitive approach, abnormal behaviour can be caused by cognitive bias, distortion and faulty thinking.
• Beck developed a cognitive explanation of depression which has three components; cognitive bias; negative self-schemas; and the negative triad.
• People with depression are more likely to focus on the negative aspects of a situation, while ignoring the positives. They are prone to distorting and misinterpreting information, which leads to the development of cognitive biases.
• Making over-generalisations and catastrophising are two cognitive biases.
• A person with a negative self-schema is likely to interpret information about themselves in a negative way.