Lesson 9 The cognitive approach to explaining depression

Question 1

The cognitive model proposes…..

Answer 1

that individuals who are suffering from depression often have distorted and negative thinking. People who think in a very negative or irrational way might be more prone to developing the illness of depression.

Question 2

The cognitive triad by Beck

Answer 2

Beck believes that people become depressed because they have a negative outlook and develop negative schemas which dominate their thinking. These negative schemas often develop in childhood whereby parents or adults have been overly critical towards them. The negative schemas continue into adulthood and provide a negative framework, whereby life is viewed in a negative way. This could cause depressive thoughts.

Examples of negative schemas:
· Self blame – depressed people feel that they are responsible for all misfortunes
· Ineptness – depressed people expect themselves to fail at everything

This could cause depression, and faulty negative thinking can lead to depression and possible suicidal tendencies. The Cognitive Triad explains the thought processes that a depressed person might develop.

Question 3

Three stages of the cognitive triad

Answer 3

Stage 1: Negative thoughts about self - The person has negative thoughts about themselves and might feel worthless and helpless. They criticise themselves at every opportunity, e.g. “I am useless and I am no good at Mathematics”

Stage 2: Negative thoughts about the world - The person has negative thoughts that extend to the wider world around them. The negative and distorted thinking continues on a larger scale, “I am useless at everything I do.” The statement becomes more global and negative.

Stage 3: Negative thoughts about the future - The person begins to think negatively about their future which might seem bleak and negative; this can cause low self esteem. The person thinks negatively and gets depressed about the future, e.g. “I will always be useless at everything I do, and this will never improve.”

Such negative thinking according to Beck’s cognitive triad can lead to suicidal thoughts that have initially been caused by negative thinking.

Question 4

Advantages of the cognitive approach by Beck

Answer 4

1. A strength of the cognitive approach is that it has become very influential within Psychology during the last 30 years, especially as the theory has been based on sound experimental research that is objective and permits testing. It seems that distorted and negative thoughts are very common amongst patients who have depression, and these negative thoughts play a key role in the development of the illness.
2. The cognitive approach would criticise the Behavioural approach when examining causes of depression. The behavioural approach would state that depression is caused by learning and the environment, whereas the cognitive approach would disagree and state that negative thinking causes depression to occur (-) There have been attempts to combine the cognitive and behavioural approaches together to form the “Cognitive Behavioural approach.” The CB approach would aim to look at both the cognitive (negative and irrational thinking) and behavioural (classical and operant conditioning and social learning) elements in order to look at causes of depression.
3. There is a great deal of supporting evidence to suggest that depression is caused by negative and irrational thinking, as well as the cognitive triad. Terry (2000) assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth. It was found that women who had a high cognitive vulnerability (to think negatively) were more likely to suffer post natal depression. This supports the cognitive approach that negative thinking can cause depression

Question 5

Disadvantages of the cognitive approach by Beck

Answer 5

1. A limitation of the cognitive approach is that cause and effect is not clear. Can we say that negative and irrational thoughts cause depression to develop; or could we say that depression develops first (from a different source) and then this causes the patient to think in a negative and irrational way? Cause and effect needs to be investigated further so that psychologists can be sure that negative thinking causes depression to occur
2. Beck’s theory can be criticised, because it does not explain how some symptoms of depression might develop. Some depressed patients show symptoms of anger, hallucinations and bizarre beliefs (e.g. Cotard syndrome is where the patient believes they are a zombie). Beck’s theory fails to account for how these symptoms of depression occur.

Question 6

Ellis’s ABC model

Answer 6

A=Activating event - Patients record events leading to negative thinking and this is triggered by an event in the environment around them such as exam failure, or getting fired from work. This activating event has a negative effect on their mood and outlook

B=Beliefs - Patients record their thoughts associated with the event (these can be rational or irrational), an example is that they think they are useless and stupid for failing the exam. Examples might be recording thoughts in a diary or journal so they can keep track of their thinking

C=Consequences - Patients record the emotional response to their beliefs. Irrational beliefs can lead to negative emotions such as feeling upset. The consequences could be debated with many different options e.g. “If I fail Maths and I feel that I am not good at it, the consequences could be that I feel upset, useless and demotivated, and it could lead to me dropping out of the course or school

Question 7

What is mustabatory thinking

Answer 7

Ellis identified that mustabatory thinking can cause irrational and negative thinking that can be emotionally damaging and can lead to depression.

These include ‘I must be loved by everyone’ and ‘I must excel in all areas….otherwise I am worthless’. An individual who holds these beliefs is bound to be disappointed or depressed, because these thoughts are too idealistic and the expectations are too high!

Question 8

Advantages of Ellis’s ABC model

Answer 8

1. There is research to support the idea of Ellis’s ABC model as a cause of depression. Bates (1999) found that depressed participants who were given negative thought statements became more and more depressed supporting the view that negative thinking helps to cause depression. If psychologists know what causes depression (negative thinking), then this can help provide effective treatments for curing depression (cognitive therapy via changing negative thoughts into positive ones)
2. The ABC model of depression is based on sound scientific evidence that permits objective testing. This allows improvement of the model and a greater understanding for the causes of depression as a whole
3. There is supporting evidence that people who develop depression in adulthood, tended to experience insecure attachments in childhood. Therefore there seems to be a link with insecure childhood attachments contributing to negative thinking which can cause depression in adulthood

Question 9

Disadvantages of Ellis’s ABC model

Answer 9

1. A disadvantage of Ellis’s model is that we it is not clear whether negative thinking actually causes depression. It could be that depression occurs first (maybe through biology or genetics) and then this causes the person to think in a negative and irrational way. Cause and effect needs to be established when looking at causes of depression
2. A disadvantage of the ABC model is that it blames the client when looking at the causes of depression. It gives the client some power to change the situation and improve their symptoms of depression, however it could mean that situational factors that have helped to cause the depression are overlooked e.g. family problems. Instead the psychologist would examine negative and irrational thoughts alone as a cause for depression
3. The biological approach to understanding depression would criticise the cognitive approach. The biological approach suggests that genes and neurotransmitters (low levels of serotonin) may cause depression. Zhang (2005) found that there is a gene related to depression that makes it ten times more likely for someone to develop the illness. The biological approach would state that biological factors are more likely to cause depression than cognitive factors