cognitive etiologies

Question 1

joiner aim

Answer 1

To study the effects of dysfunctional thinking on depression.
They hypothesized that negative thinking patterns, but not anxious conditions, would play a role in the onset of depressive symptoms

Question 2

participants joiner

Answer 2

• 119 american uni students 29 years age

Question 3

procedure joiner

Answer 3

• Stressor: mid term exams
• They were assessed two weeks prior and two weeks post exams
• The exams was naturally occurring so a natural experiment
  Three tests were given to assess students:
• Dysfunctional attitudes scale: measures thinking patterns such as vulnerability, need for approval, perfectionism and need to impress. taken only pre exams
• Cognitive checklist: half of the questions determine automatic thoughts linked to depression and the other half linked to anxiety. Taken pre and post
• The beck depression inventory: a standardized assessment to measure levels of symptoms linked to depression. Pre and post

Question 4

results joiner

Answer 4

• Increased depressive symptoms (BDI) in students who has high DAS and failed a test however high DAS and passed the test did not increase BDI
• Those with low DAS and failed test did not increase BDI
• Correlation between high scores in CCL and BDI when exams failed.
  There was no correlation between anxiety and BDI

Question 5

conclusion joiner

Answer 5

To conclude we can see a relation between thought processes and a stressor and how these reactions to stressors can lead to development of depressive symptoms.

Question 6

strengths joiner

Answer 6

• Prospective, therefore researchers were able to see change in relation to time, and remove bidirectional ambiguity

Question 7

weaknessses joiner

Answer 7

• Naturalistic meaning limited control over extraneous variables
• Increase in depressive symptoms is not the same as diagnosis so not the same explanation for
  clinical depression?
• Sampling bias, all participants same age and education

Question 8

nolen hokessema aim

Answer 8

To carry out a prospective study of the role of rumination on symptoms related to depression

Question 9

experimental style joiner

Answer 9

• natural experiment

Question 10

procedure nolen hokessema

Answer 10

• Participants were interviewed two times over one year
• In person interview at their homes
• Clinical interview that lasts 90 minutes

Interview had a battery of tests including BDI, Hamilton rating scale for depression, SCID, Beck Anxiety inventory

• Given a rumination and coping questionnaire with questions how often do they think ‘why do i react this way’

Question 11

participants nolen hokessema

Answer 11

1132 participants randomly selected from a community of adults from san Francisco area. Chosen by random digit dialing of phone numbers.

Question 12

results nolen hokessema

Answer 12

• Those who show signs of mdd had higher scores on the rumination responses
• Participants who had never been depressed has lower rumination scores than the other participants
• Chronically depressed people has the highest rumination scores

Question 13

strengths nolen hokessema

Answer 13

• supports becks theory
• supported by biological evidence such as farb 2012 - 16 healthy and 16 pre-depresssed people shown sad and happy film (they conducted questions testing their cognitive styles in emotional situations)

Faced with sadness, the relapsing patients showed more activity in a frontal region of the brain, known as the medial prefrontal gyrus. These responses were also linked to higher rumination: the tendency to think obsessively about negative events and occurrences. The healthy participants showed activity in the visual cortex.

Question 14

weaknesses nolen hokessema

Answer 14

• relies on self reported questionaaires
• those with severe symptoms dropped out wich could be due to a bias

Question 15

alloy aim

Answer 15

A study on the effect of a persons cognition has on the development of depression. May be used to discuss the etiology of a disorder.

Question 16

participants alloy

Answer 16

none depressed collage students
half had a history, but not at the time

Question 17

procedure alloy

Answer 17

• A test was given to measure cognitive style, and rated high risk or low risk for depression
• For 2.5 years 6 week assessments were made
• For 3 years every 4 months assessments were made
  Questionnaires looked at: life events, cognitive style, depressive symptoms
  interviews too

Question 18

results alloy

Answer 18

• Group with no depression history;17% depression, 29% depression signs were high risk whereas the
• low risk was 1% depression and 6% depressive signs.
• Depressive history group; 27% relapsed, 50% depressive signs for high risk
• low risk has 6% relapse and 26.5% showing signs
  Suicidal thoughts was 28% for high risk group and 12.6% for low risk group

in an additional test the high risk group recall and process negative information faster than positive information

Question 19

conclusions alloy

Answer 19

We can see that the percentages though still not extremely high are significantly higher for those identified at high risk of depression which shows that outlook does play an impact on out vulnerability to the disorders

Question 20

strentghs alloy

Answer 20

• Method and data triangulation to increase credibility
• The risk tests are highly standardized and have a high level of reliability
• The pre post test style helps remove bidirectional ambiguity. However it’s a natural experiment and iv is not manipulated so no cause and effect.
• Has been applied and shown effective

Question 21

weaknsesses alloy

Answer 21

• The pre post test style helps remove bidirectional ambiguity. However its a natural experiment and iv is not manipulated so no cause and effect.
• Link between cognition and depression is probs more complex. Probs a domino casuality