The negative triad

• Negative triad consists of :

  • a negative view of the world
  • negative view of the future
  • negative view of the self
• Aaron Beck hypothesised that a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of three types of negative thinking that occurs automatically
• Negative view of the world: an example would be ‘the world is a cruel place’. this creates the impression that there is no hope anywhere
• Negative view of the future- an example would be ‘there isn’t much chance that the economy will get better. Such thoughts reduce any hopefulness and enhance depression
• Negative view of the self- for example thinking ‘I am such a failure’. such thoughts enhance any existing depressive feelings because they confirm the existing emotions of low self esteem