explaining depression

• beck's negative triad

  1967

  explains why some people are more vulnerable tp depression than others
• three parts of the cognitive vulnerability to depression

  faulty information processing

  negative self-schema

  the negative triad
• faulty information processing

  depressed people attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives

  more likely to see life as 'failing'

  tend towards 'black and white' thinking
• negative self-schema

  schema= package of ideas and information developed through experience

  act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information

  self schema= package of information people have about themselves

  negative self-schema means someone interprets all information about themselves in a negative way
• negative triad

  negative view of the world- creates impression that there is no hope anywhere

  negative view of the future- reduce any hopefulness and enhances depression

  negative view of the self- enhance any existing depressive feelings, confirms existing emotions of low self-esteem
• strength of beck negative triad

  research support

  real world application
• research support

  clark and Beck concluded that not only were these cognitive vulnerabilities were more common in depressed pimple but preceded the depression

  shows association between cognitive vulnerability and depression
• Ellis cognitive suggestion

  suggested a different cognitive explanation for depression

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

  anxiety and depression result from irrational thoughts
• Ellis' definition of irrational thoughts

  any thoughts that interfere with us being happy and free from pain
• ABC model

  activating event

  beliefs

  consequences
• activating event

  irrational thoughts are triggered by external events

  according to Ellis we get depressed when we experience negative events and these trigger irrational beliefs

  events like failing an important test or ending a relationship might trigger irrational beliefs
• Beliefs

  he called the belief that we must always succeed for achieve perfection

  a major disaster whenever something does not go smoothly
• consequences

  when an activation events triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences

  e.g. a person believes that they must always succeed and then fails at something this can trigger depression
• strength of ABC model

  real world application
• real world application

  ellis' approach to cognitive therapy is REBT

  the idea that by vigorously arguing with a depressed person the therapist can alter the irrational beliefs that are making them unhappy
• limitation of ABC model

  reactive and endogenous depression
• reactive and endogenous

  many cases of depression are not traceable to life events and it is not obvious what leads the person to become depressed at a particular time