Becks negative triad

• ao1

  Beck suggested that caused ny informational processing and irrational thinking people with depression become trapped in a negative thinking cycle. They have 3 negative self-schemas which are acquired during childhood and are activated whenever a new situation is encountered. The schemas lead to systematic negative biases in thinking known as cognitive distortions where they ignore all the positives and focus on the negatives of a situation. eg)I've failed a test so I will fail all of my exams
• strengths: application to therapy

  one example of this is Becks cognitive therapy which effectively treat patients by processes like reality testing where the client may be asked to record all the positive thing that has happened to them

  k-This therefore allows them to question the negative beliefs and schemas and prove them incorrect
• another strength: supporting research

  Boury et al found that patients with depression where more likely to misinterpret information negatively (cognitive bias ) and feel helpless about their future (cognitive triad)

  A-Furthermore Bates et al found that depressed participants who where given negative automatic thought statements became more depressed. k-This research therefore supports the view that negative thinking mat develop because of their depression
• weakness: not all irrational beleifs are irrational they just might seem irrational

  alloy and Al.ramson suggests that depressed realists tend to see things for what they are with normal people tending to veiw the world through rose coloured glases. They found that depressed people gave more accurate estimates of the likelihood of a disaster than normal 'controlls' and called this the sadder but wiser effect.

  k-these doubts about irrational thinking shows some faults in Becks negative triad
• another weakness: other more suitable explanations

  The biological approach to undergo mental disorder suggests that genes and neurotransmitters may cause depression. Zang et al found that low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in depressed people. A gene related to this is a lot more common in people with depression

  k-therefore the existence of other approaches and effective therapies suggests that depression can't be explained by the cognitive approach alone