Depression Flashcards
(23 cards)
What is the definition of depression?
A mood disorder which can be unipolar or bipolar
What are the emotional characteristics of depression?
Low mood, worthlessness and a lack of interest or pleasure
What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?
Loss of energy, sleep disturbance and changes to appetite
What are the cognitive characteristics of depression?
An inability to concentrate and a focus on negative thoughts
Who had a cognitive theory of depression?
Beck 1967
What did Beck’s Cognitive Theory of Depression say?
Depressed people’s thinking is negative about the world and they think they lack control over it
What are the three main aspects about Beck’s theory?
- Negative schemas
- Cognitive bias
- The negative triad
What are negative schemas and how might they arise?
Negative self and world-views.
The might arise due to criticism from others in childhood
What is cognitive bias?
When someone concentrates on the negatives of a situation
What 3 things make up the negative triad?
Negative views about:
1. the world
2. Oneself
3. The future
Name an alternate model of depression to Beck’s
Eliis ABC model 1962
Name the A, B and C of Ellis’ model
Activating event
Belief
Consequence
What is the theory behind Ellis’ ABC model?
That depression is caused by irrational thinking
What is mustabatory thinking?
The belief that you must be perfect in order to get approval
What did Beevers et al 2010 show?
MRI scans showed that depressed people had less control over brain areas associated with emotional information
Name 2 studies that support Beck’s theory
- Hammen and Krantz 1976
- Bates et al 1999
Name a positive about cognitive approaches to depression
Therapy challenges irrational thoughts with success so this suggests that such thoughts are part of the cause
Name 2 negatives about the cognitive approach to depression
- They don’t explain why anger or hallucinations can occur in depression
- Only explains depression caused by an activating event
Which study classified students as either optimistic or hopeless thinkers and what was the outcome?
Alloy et al 1999. 1% of optimistic thinkers developed depression but 17% of hopeless thinkers did
Which study found that depressed people took longer to move away from depressing words?
Koster et al 2005
Which study tested the negative cognitive triad and what was the result?
McIntosh & Fisher 2000. The found only 1 single negative perception of the self
Who came up with the cognitive theory of depression?
Beck 1967
What are the three aspects of Beck theory of depression?
- Negative schemas
- Faulty information processing
- The negative cognitive triad
