Suggests it's a person's cognition that makes them more vulnerable to depression
Cognitive vulnerability is either; Faulty information processing = focusing on the negative and ignoring the positive aspects of a situation or Negative self-schema = information about yourself is processed negatively
Negative triad = those with depression become stuck in a cycle of negative thoughts which occur automatically
Beck A03
Range of supporting evidence -> Grazio and Terry assessed pregnant women and their cognitive vulnerability and found those who were deemed more vulnerable where more likely to suffer post-natal depression -> these conditions are seen before depression develops suggesting a cognitive aspect
Practical application -> forms the basis of CBT -> cognitive aspects are identified and challenged by the therapist of CBT -> components of triad are easily identifiable meaning they can be questioned by the therapist
Ellis ABC model
Used to explain how irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state
A (activating event) - a stimuli or trigger -> B (Beliefs) - irrational or rational -> C (consequences) - the way in which we respond either healthy or unhealthy
Masturbatory thinking = irrational thoughts occur because of it -> Idea that certain assumptions/ ideas must be true for an individual to be happy
Ellis ABC model A03
Practical applications = has led to successful therapies and research supports the idea that by challenging a person's irrational beliefs a person can reduce their depression
This approach blames the person for the illness rather than situational factors which may in turn further induce their depression
Ellis ABC model A03 (continued)
The biological approach disagrees and suggests that mental illnesses are the result of low serotonin levels meaning that something else may be causing the thoughts
An issue is that we cannot establish whether irrational thoughts cause depression of whether they are the result of depression