The cognitive approach to explaining depression

• Beck's negative triad (Aaron Beck)


  A cognitive approach to explaining why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others
• Beck's cognitive vulnerability


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


  Depressed people attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives
• Faulty information processing


  • If I was depressed and won £1 million on the Lottery, I might focus on the fact that the previous week someone had won £10 million, rather than focus on the positive of all I could do with £1 million
  • People also tend to blow small problems out of proportion and think in 'black-and-white' terms
• Schema


  A 'package of ideas and information developed through experience. They act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information
• Self-schema


  The package of information people have about themselves. People use schema to interpret the world, so if a person has a negative self-schema they interpret all information about themselves in a negative way
• Negative triad


  Three types of negative thinking that occur automatically, regardless of the reality of what is happening at the time
• Elements of the negative triad

  • Negative view of the world
  • Negative view of the future
  • Negative view of the self
• Negative view of the world

  • 'the world is a cold hard place. This creates the impression that there is no hope anywhere
• Negative view of the future

  • 'there isn't much chance that the economy will really get better' Such thoughts reduce any hopefulness and enhance depression
• Negative view of the self

  • 'I am a failure!' Such thoughts enhance any existing depressive feelings because they confirm the existing emotions of lowself-esteem
• Strength of Becks cognitive model of depression


  • Existence of supporting research

  • David and Aaron Beck concluded that not only was cognitive vulnerability more common in depressed people, but they predicted the depression.

  • Joseph confirmed this by tracking the development of 473 adolescence and found that showing cognitive vulnerability predicted later depression.

  • Shows that there is an association between cognitive vulnerability and

  depression
• Ellis's ABC model


  A - Activating event

  B - Beliefs

  C - Consequences
• Albert Ellis


  • Suggested a cognitive explanation of depression and proposed that good mental health is the result of rational thinking
• Rational thinking


  Thinking in ways that allow people to be happy and free from pain
• Irrational thoughts


  Any thoughts that interfere with us being happy and free from pain (not illogical or unrealistic)
• Ellis's ABC model


  A - Activating event (external events that trigger irrational beliefs)

  B - Beliefs (irrational beliefs like 'musturbation', 'I-can't-stand-it-itis', 'Utopianism')

  C - Consequences (emotional and behavioural consequences of irrational beliefs)
• Strength of Ellis‘s is ABC model


  • real world application

  • Ellis’s approach to cognitive therapy is rational emotive behaviour therapy, which is when a therapist vigourously arguses with a depressed person to alter the irrational beliefs that are making them unhappy.

  • there is evidence to support the idea that are REBT can change both negative beliefs and relieve the symptoms of depression by David.

  • means that REBT has real world value.
• Limitation of Ellis’s model

  it only explains reactive and not endogenous depression