Cognitive approach to explaining depression

• Becks negative triad

  = Beck took a cognitive approach to explaining why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others.

  • A persons cognitions create this vulnerability
• Faulty information processing

  =When depressed people attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives.

  • Tend to blow small problems out of proportion and think in 'black and White'
• Negative self schema

  Schema= package of Idea's and information developed through experience.

  • Act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information.
  • Self-schema= package of information people have about themselves.
  • People use schema to interpret the world, so a person who has a negative self-schema interpret all information about themselves in a negative way.
• Negative triad

  Beck suggested that a person develops a dysfunctional view of themselves because of 3 types of negative thinking that occur automattically, regardless of the reality of what is happening.

  • Negative views of the world= creates the impression that there is no hope anywhere.
  • Negative view of the future= reduces any hopefulness and enhance depression.
  • Negative view of the self= enhance an existing depressive feeling because they confirm the existing emotions of low self esteem.
• Ellis's ABC model

  -Proposed that good mental health is the result of rational thinking.

  -Not the events but the interpretations of these events cause depression

  -Irrational thoughts interfere with us being happy.

  • Activating event= irrational thoughts are triggered by external events, negative events trigger irrational beliefs which make us depressed.
  • Beliefs= persons beliefs around the event (blame themselves)
  • Consequences= emotional response to irrational beliefs, there are emotional and behavioural consequences.
• Evaluation- Negative triad, research support

  'Cognitive vulnerability' refers to ways of thinking that may predispose a person to becoming depressed, eg: faulty information processing, negative self-schema, and the cognitive triad.

  Clark and Beck concluded that not only were these cognitive vulnerabilities more common in depressed people but they preceded the depression. Confirmed in a recent study by Cohen tracked the development of 473 adolescents, regularly measuring cognitive vulnerability.

  found showing cognitive vulnerability predicted later depression.
• Evaluation- Negative triad, real world application

  Strength= application in screening and treatment for depression.

  • Cohen concluded that assessing cognitive vulnerability allows psychologists to screen young people, identifying those most at risk of developing depression in the future and monitoring them.
  • Understanding cognitive vulnerability can also be applied in cognitive behaviour therapy.
  • These therapies work by altering the kind of cognitions that make people vulnerable to depression, making them more resilient to negative life events.
• Evaluation- ABC model, real world application

  Strength= application in the psychological treatment of depression.

  • Ellis's approach to cognitive therapy is called rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)
  • The idea of REBT is that by vigorously arguing with a depressed person the therapist can alter the irrational beliefs that are making them unhappy.
  • There's some evidence to support the idea that REBT can both charge negative beliefs and relieve the symptoms of depression.
  • So REBT has real world value.
• Evaluation- ABC model, reactive and endogenous depression

  Limitation= ABC model doesn't explain endogenous depression. Depression is often triggered by life events (activating events). Such cases are sometimes called reactive depression. How we respond to negative life events is the result of our beliefs. However many cases of depression are not traceable to life events and its not obvious what leads the person to become depressed= endogenous depression. ABC model less useful for explaining endogenous depression. ABC model only a partial explanation.