The Cognitive approach to explaining depression

• Who are the two main cognitive psychologists who studied depression?

  • Ellis
  • Beck
• What was Ellis' model called?

  • The ABC model
  • 1962
• What is the ABC model?

  • Depression due to irrational thoughts -> irrational ≠ illogical/unrealistic
  • Irrational thoughts = thoughts that make us unhappy/prevent freedom from pain
  • We have goals in life -> life often blocks these goals = 'ACTIVATING/triggering event'
  • Reaction to event is what causes depression (not event itself)
  • Irrational reactions caused by unhealthy BELIEFS
  • CONSEQUENCE = depression
  • A = activating event, B = belief, C = consequence
• What are the negative consequences of irrational thinking?

  • Musturbation -> belief that certain things MUST happen
  • Not true (activation) = produces irrational thoughts, e.g. utopianism (belief that world must always be fair)
  • Utopianism belief = 'people should always treat me as I deserve'
  • Utopianism consequence = unhappiness when this doesn't happen in an activating event
• What was Beck's model called?

  • The Negative Triad
  • 1967
• What is the Negative Triad?

  • Depression = due to 'faulty thinking', i.e. cognitive errors
• What does faulty thinking cause?

  • Negative schemas characterised by cognitive biases
  • Cognitive biases = poor logic = negative automatic thoughts = negative schemas further fuelled
• What are some examples of cognitive biases?

  • Arbitrary inference
  • Conclusions drawn on insufficient evidence
  • Magnification + minimisation
  • Conclusions drawn from exaggerating/downplaying factors in evaluating performance
  • Personalisation
  • Conclusions drawn from seeing yourself as responsible for others' negative feelings
• • Schemas developed in childhood
  • Traumatic experiences = negative schemas
  • = misperception of reality
  • e.g. ineptness schema, self-blame schema, negative self-evaluation schema
• • Stressful situations trigger memories of original event behind negative schema
  • Causes current situation to be viewed through that schema
  • Negative outcome becomes expected, now + in future
• What is the main basis of Beck's Negative Triad that is to be used in exam answers?

  • Schemas, cognitive biases + negative automatic thoughts (NATs) interact = negative triad
  • Negative view of world
  • Negative view of self
  • Negative view of future
  • = 100% probability of depression