AO3

• A strength of Beck’s cognitive explanation is that it has strong supporting evidence. For example, in a review David Clark and Aaron Beck (1999) concluded that not only were cognitive vulnerabilities more common in individuals with depression but also preceded the depression. This strengthens Beck’s explanation as it suggests that Beck may be right about the influence of cognition on depression.
• A strength of Beck’s cognitive explanation is that it has practical application. This is because it forms the basis of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), which is a type of therapy that aims to change the way people think about themselves and their problems. A therapist would identify the cognitive aspects of their client’s depression then challenge them and encourage the client to test whether they are true. This is a strength of the explanation because it can be successfully applied in therapy to treat depression.
• A weakness of Beck’s cognitive explanation is that it doesn’t explain all aspects of depression. This is because it doesn’t explain why some people with depression feel extreme anger, and some experience hallucinations and delusions. This weakens the cognitive explanation because it only provides a partial explanation and ignores the complexity of depression.
• A strength of Ellis’ ABC model is that it has real world application. This is because Ellis’ used his model to create REBT (a form of CBT) that uses the ABC model to identify irrational thoughts and challenge them to treat depression. This is a strength of this model because it has led to successful therapy which then supports the idea that irrational thinking plays a role in depression.
• A strength of Ellis’ ABC model is that it has supporting evidence. An example, is Taghavi et al. who replicated previous research on western samples that had shown that irrational belief systems were associated with depression on Iranian samples. He compared the scores of 29 clinically depressed to 34 normal controls on the ‘Irrational Beliefs Test’ and discovered that depressed patients scored higher in irrational beliefs. This strengthens Ellis’ model as it supports how irrational beliefs have an influence on depression.
• A weakness of Ellis’ ABC model is that it doesn’t account for all types of depression. This is because it only explains reactive depression, where the individual has had an activating event but does not explain endogenous depression, where the depression is not traceable to life events. This limits the model as it is a partial explanation that doesn’t include all forms of depression.
• A strength of Beck’s cognitive behavioural therapy as a treatment of depression is that it has evidence supporting its effectiveness. An example is March et al, where researchers compared CBT to antidepressants drugs and a combination of both in 327 adolescents. It was discovered after 36 weeks, the rates of response to treatment was 81% for CBT alone and 86% for a combination of CBT and antidepressants. This strengthens CBT as a treatment for depression as it showcases how it is not only effective on its own, but also when combined with drug therapy.
• A weakness of Beck’s cognitive behavioural therapy is that it may not be suitable for all clients. This is because it lacks effectiveness for clients with learning difficulties as they may struggle to engage with the cognitive element of the therapy. Sturmey et al suggested that in general, any form of therapy is not suitable for people with learning difficulties. Therefore, this limits CBT as a treatment for depression as it is only suitable for a certain range of people.
• A weakness of Beck’s CBT is that it may not work for the most severe cases. This is because in some cases of depression the individual is too distressed to engage with the hard cognitive work of CBT, as they may find it difficult to focus. Also, for CBT to be effective they must meet with their therapist for between 6-20 weekly or fortnightly sessions, with each session lasting 30-60 minutes, a severely depressed client may struggle to find the motivation. This limits this treatment because it means that CBT cannot be used as the sole treatment for all cases of depression.
• A strength of Ellis’ REBT as a treatment of depression is that it has research support. For example, Ellis claimed a 90% success rate after 27 sessions and David et al. found that REBT has lasting positive effects even after therapy has ended, and is as effective as cognitive therapy and medication for treating depression. This strengthens this treatment because it has good supporting evidence demonstrating its effectiveness.
• A strength of Ellis’ REBT is that it has support for the effectiveness of behavioural activation. Babyak et al studied 156 depressed clients and they were split into aerobic exercise, drug treatment and both. It was discovered that those in the exercise group had lower relapse rates. This strengthens REBT as a treatment for depression as behavioural activation has been shown to reduce symptoms.
• A weakness of Ellis’ REBT is that it doesn’t account for individual differences. Elkins suggested that REBT is less suitable for clients who have high irrational beliefs that are resistant to change. This limits this treatment as it is unlikely to work for the most severe cases of depression where the strong arguments Ellis suggested may not be enough to challenge and break irrational thought patterns.
• A strength is that it has supporting evidence. Bailey et al examined mothers and their infants, to assess their attachment styles. They found that most mothers in their study shared the same attachment type with their children as they had with their mothers, suggesting that attachment patterns are often passed from one generation to the next. This supports Bowlby’s concept of the internal working model, which argues that early relationships create a framework that shapes future behaviour in relationships, including how individuals parent.
• A weakness is that there are methodological issues. Much of the research, including Hazan and Shaver’s study, relies on self-report questionnaires and retrospective recall. Participants may have inaccurate memories of their early relationships, which can lead to biased responses and affect reliability. Additionally, self-reporting may be influenced by social desirability, where participants respond in ways they believe to be more acceptable or favourable. This reduces the validity of the conclusions drawn about the influence of early attachment on later relationships.
• A weakness is that the continuity hypothesis is deterministic. This is because it implies that those with insecure attachments are destined to have poor future relationships. However, research by Zimmerman et al. (2000) challenges this assumption, finding that life events and experiences, such as supportive relationships in adulthood, can alter attachment styles over time. This evidence suggests that early attachment influences are not necessarily permanent, and individuals with insecure attachment can develop healthier relationship patterns.