cognitive approach: depression

• What is faulty information processing?

  this is when depressed people attend to the negative aspects of a situation

  - depressed people may tend to think 'black and white', where something is either all good or all bad

  
  

  an example of this could be:

  I won £1 million in the lottery but instead of being happy about it I just thought about the fact that somebody last week had won £10 million
• what is a schema?

  A package of ideas and information developed through experience

  - they act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information
• what is a self-schema?

  the package of information people have about themselves
• what happens to people with a negative self-schema?

  people sues schemas to interpret the world, so if a person has a negative self-schema they interpret all information about themselves in a negative way
• The negative triad:

  Beck

  - suggested that a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of the three types of negative thinking which automatically occurs, regardless of the reality which is happening at that time

  - these 3 elements are called the negative triad
• what are the three elements of the negative triad?

  negative view of self - these thoughts enhance any existing depressive feelings because they confirm the existing emotions of low self-esteem

  
  

  negative view of future - such thoughts reduce any hopefulness and enhance depression

  
  

  negative view of world - creates an impression of no hope
• Ellis' ABC model

  Ellis suggested a different cognitive explanation for depression
• what did he propose about good mental health?

  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
• to Ellis conditions like anxiety and depression result from what?

  irrational thoughts
• what are irrational thoughts?

  any thoughts that interfere with us being happy and free from pain
• what did Ellis use the ABC model to explain?

  How irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state
• what does the A stand for?

  activating event - a situation which triggers an individual to potentially have an irrational thought.

  
  

  - according to Ellis we get depressed when we experience negative event and these trigger irrational beliefs
• what does B stand for?

  beliefs

  Ellis identified a range of irrational beliefs
• what did Ellis call the belief that we must always succeed or achieve perfection/

  musturbation
• what does the C stand for?

  consequences

  
  

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

  
  

  - example = if a person believes that they must always succeed but then they fail, this can trigger depression
• AO3 weakness

  • doesn't explain the origins of irrational thoughts
  • psychologists are unable to determine if negative, irrational thoughts cause depression, or whether a person’s depression leads to a negative mindset
  • consequently
  • it is possible that other factors, for example, genes and neurotransmitters, are the cause of depression
  • the negative, irrational thoughts are the symptom of depression
• AO3 weakness

  • there are alternative explanations which suggest that depression is a biological condition, caused by genes and neurotransmitters
  • Research focused on the role of serotonin has found lower levels in patients with depression
  • drug therapies, including SSRIs which increase the level of serotonin, are found to be effective in the treatment of depression,
  • which provide further support for the role of neurotransmitters, in the development of depression
  • therefore
  • this casts doubt on the cognitive explanation as a sole cause of the disorder
• AO3 strength: beck and ellis

  • explanations have real world application in treatments for depression
  • cohen et al concluded that assessing cognitive vulnerability allows psychologist to screen young people,
  • identifying those at most risk of developing depression in the future and monitoring them
  • understanding cognitive vulnerability can be applied to CBT and psychological treatment
  • REBT is where the therapist can alter the irrational beliefs that are making them unhappy
  • theres evidence..to support the idea that REBT can change negative beliefs and relieve symptoms of depression