The Cognitive Approach to Explaining Depression

• what are the main assumptions of the cognitive approach?

  ->thoughts are inferred

  ->the brain is like a computer

  ->all behaviour is caused by our perception of a situation
• what is the cognitive approach's explanation for depression?

  it's the result of inappropriate, disordered thinking
• describe Beck's cognitive triad


  Beck (1963- he says that a person's cognitions that creates their vulnerability
• describe 'negative schema'


  ->schema is a 'package of knowledge' which stores info and ideas about our self and the world around us

  ->schemas are developed during childhood and according to Beck, depressed people possess negative schemas which may come from negative experiences
• what is the negative triad?

  -> a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of three types of thinking that occur automatically, regardless of the reality of what's happening at the time

  ->the person has a negative view of themselves, the future and the world
• what is overgeneralisations

  ->when someone makes a sweeping conclusions based on a single incident
• what is catastrophising 


  ->where the person exaggerate a minor setback and believe that it is a complete disaster
• what is 'all or none thinking'?

  a tendency to think in concrete, black and white terms
• what was Ellis' role in using the cognitive approach in explaining depression?

  ->he proposed that good mental health is the result rational thinking, defined as thinking in ways that allow people to be happy and free of pain

  ->to him, conditions like anxiety and depression (poor mental health) result from irrational thinking
• what was Ellis' definition of irrational thoughts ?

  they weren't defined as illogical/unrealistic thoughts, but as any thoughts that interfere us in being happy and free of pain
• what is the ABC model?

  ->proposed by Ellis to explain how irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state

  ->A- activating event

  ->B- belief/ interpretation of the traumatic event

  ->C- consequence
• Explain the role of the activating event in causing people to have irrational thoughts

  ->A is the activating event, situations where irrational thoughts are triggered by external events, depression according to Ellis; occurs through negative events

  e.g, your friend ignoring you after you said 'hello'
• explain how an individual's belief causes one to have irrational beliefs

  ->after experiencing a negative event, the individual interprets the events which is often irrational

  ->e.g, believing your friend hates you and doesn't want to talk to you again
• Explain how the consequence of an activating event, the irrational interpretation of the event causes one to develop irrational beliefs.

  ->when an activating event triggers irrational beliefs, there are emotional and behavioural consequences

  ->irrational beliefs can lead to unhealthy emotions and behaviours- including depression

  ->e.g deciding to delete your friend's number because 'they do not want to speak to you'
• what is a strength of using the cognitive approach to explain depression?

  ->there's research to support Beck's cognitive model of depression

  ->Clark and Beck (1999) researched the cognitive vulnerabilities that may predispose a person to becoming depressed

  ->they found that the cognitive vulnerabilities were common in depressed people but these cognitions were reported before the depression developed
• Cohen (2019)


  A more prospective study done to track the development of 473 adolescents, regularly measuring cognitive vulnerability

  ->it was found that showing cognitive vulnerability preceded later depression
• what is another strength of using the cognitive approach to explain depression?

  ->it has real-world applications in the psychological treatment of depression

  ->Beck's model allows psychologists to screen for cognitive vulnerability in young people, identify those most at risk of depression in the future and monitor them

  ->therapies like CBT allows clients to alter the kind of cognitions that make people vulnerable to depression

  ->likewise, Ellis' model has had contributions to cognitive therapy called REBT where the aim is to alter the irrational beliefs that are making them unhappy
• why is it a strength that Beck and Ellis's model of depression has real-world applications when it comes to the psychological treatments of depression

  ->it suggests that if we can successfully treat patients depressive thoughts, the origins of depression must lie in faulty irrational thinking
• What is a limitation of Ellis's ABC model of depression?

  It only explains reactive depression
• What type of depression does Ellis's model primarily address?

  Reactive depression
• What are 'activating events' in the context of depression?

  Life events that trigger depression
• What term is used for depression triggered by life events?

  Reactive depression
• How do beliefs influence responses to negative life events?

  They shape how we respond to events
• What is endogenous depression?

  Depression not traceable to life events
• Why is Ellis's model not useful for explaining endogenous depression?

  It doesn't account for non-triggered cases
• What is the main criticism of Ellis's ABC model regarding depression?

  It fails to explain endogenous depression which means that Ellis' model is just a partial explanation for depression