Cognition of Depression

• Cognitive psychologists emphasise that thinking shapes behaviour. In terms of abnormality, negative irrational thoughts lead to developing mental disorders, such as depression.
• Ellis’ ABC model: A) activating event - trigger B) belief - rational or irrational C) consequence - healthy or unhealthy emotions and behaviour, coping.
• Musturbatory thinking: the source of irrational beliefs - thinking that certain things MUST be true for you to be happy. An individual who has these beliefs is more likely to be depressed as they hold an irrational belief of failure.
• Ellis’ three irrational beliefs? 1. I must be approved of or accepted by important people. 2. I must do well or I am worthless. 3. The world must give me happiness or I will die.
• Beck suggests that depressed individuals feel this way as their thinking is biased towards negative interpretations of the world and lack a perceived sense of control.
• Depressed people adopted a negative schema during childhood - having a negative interpretation oif the world. This is caused by rejection (peer/parent) and criticism. The schema are activated in new situations and also lead to cognitive bias - overgeneralising a negative conclusion to the self on the basis of small negative feedback.
• cognitive explanation of depression AO1: depression as a result of irrational thinking, negative schemas, the cognitive negative triad (Beck), ABC model (Ellis), cognitive bias, negative view of self, world, future.
• strength of cognitive explanation of depression

  -Research support

  -Hammen and Krantz: ppts who had depression made more errors in logic on interpreting written material.

  -Bates: depressed ppts given a negative automatic statement became increasingly depressed

  -Supports irrational thinking in the role of depression but is not the cause of depression.
• limitation of cognitive explanation of depression?

  -Ignores biological explanations of depression

  -genes and neurotransmitters may cause depression, eg low levels of serotonin found in depressed individuals and a related gene is 10x more common in depressed ppl.

  -Success of drug therapies for depression shows role of neurotransmitters.

  -The existence of alternative approaches suggests the cognitive explanation cannot only be used to explain depression
• Strength of cognitive explanation of depression

  -Applicable to real life as a treatment of depression

  -Cognigive explanation applied to CBT which is a successful and effective treatment.

  -CBT is found to be the best treatment in conjunction with drug treatments (Cuijpers)

  -This success supports the role of the cognitive approach in depression.
• limitation of cognitive explanation of depression

  -irrational beliefs may not actually be irrational

  -some beliefs that seem ‘irrational’ may be very realistic

  -depressive realists see the world as it actually is rather than through ‘rose tinted glasses’. They have a greater accuracy in estimating the likelihood of disaster.

  -questions the value of the cognitive approach as there are doubts to whether irrational thoughts are actually irrational.