Cognitive approach to explaining depression

• Cognitive vulnerability to depression

  • Faulty information processing
  • Negative self-schema
  • Negative triad
• Faulty information processing


  Focuses on the negative aspects of a situation and blowing small problems out of proportion
• Schema


  A package of ideas and information developed through our experiences
• Negative self-schema


  Interpreting everything negatively
• Negative triad


  Negative views of the world, negative views of the self, and negative views of the future
• ABC model


  1. Activating events (A)

  2. Beliefs (B)

  3. Consequence (C)
• Activating events (A)


  Events in an individual's life
• Beliefs (B)


  Irrational thinking
• Consequence (C)


  State of depression
• Ellis proposed the ABC model where he explains that depression is caused by irrational thinking