Cognitive

• Mental illness is developed due to a problem with information processing, perception or belief.
• Schizophrenia

  Failures of attention- schizophrenic people can’t filter out unnecessary or unwanted stimuli so they can’t decide what is appropriate or inappropriate information.

  Cognitive biases & delusions- delusions are a set of beliefs that are different from the beliefs held by normal people
• Depression

  Low mood is due to an individuals faulty or distorted thinking. Depressed people understand failings as internal, stable and global. They attribute failure to their personal responsibility which is something that will persist and influence all situations they’re in. These negative/pessimistic thoughts clearly link to some of the symptoms of depression.
• Evaluation of the Cognitive explanation:

  • Reductionist
  • Deterministic
  • Individual & Situational
  • Nature & Nurture
  • Unscientific
  • Socially Sensitive
  • Not Ethnocentric
  • Useful
• A strength of the cognitive explanation is that it provides applications such as CBT which can help change thought processes. CBT can help schizophrenic people identify triggers and find alternative solutions to their delusions. This is positive as it means they won’t have to be dependent on medication. However, a schizophrenic person has to put in effort in order to change their thought processes which is time-consuming.
• An issue with the cognitive explanation is that its deterministic as it implies thought processes are out of our control. This could tell a depressed person that their thought processes won’t change so they will always be depressed. This is negative as it may stop people from addressing their mental health problems. However, it may tell people that their thought processes aren’t their fault which can be comforting.