Beck's Cognitive Triad

• what's depression a result of? - Beck's

  depression result of negative interpretations of the world
• 3 key elements of theory

  1 - negative self schemas

  2 - confirmation bias & cognitive biases

  3 - negative triad
• negative self schemas 


  -depressed people have these

  -this is tendency to adopt negative view on themself

  -leads to pessimistic beliefs & expectations

  -develops during childhood due to traumatic experiences
• when are negative self schemas said to develop?

  -childhood

  -due to traumatic experiences
• what does tendency to adopt negative view on themself lead to?

  pessimistic beliefs & expectations

  = depression
• what do negative self schemas lead to?


  confirmation bias
• confirmation bias


  where we look to confirm our negative beliefs & not disprove them
• cognitive biases 


  -making errors in their thinking

  -people with negative self schemas become prone to making these
• what are people with negative self schemas prone to making?

  -cognitive biases:

  > errors in thinking
• what causes Beck's negative triad? 


  -proposed these negative self schemas & cognitive biases lead to pessimistic & irrational view of 3 elements in personal belief system
• 3 components of Negative Triad 


  -negative view of self

  -negative view of world

  -negative view of future

  > not conscious, they're automatic

  -will interact & interfere with cognitive processing