LEWINSOHN 1974
Background
Behavioural explanations of depression assume that the behaviours shown by individuals suffering from depression are learnt either through conditioning or imitation.
Lewinsohn stated depression occurs because of a reduction in the level of reinforcement or reward that an individual experiences.
LEWINSOHN 1974
Aim
To compare the amount of ‘positive reinforcement’ received by depressed and non-depressed people.
LEWINSOHN 1974
Method
Longitudinal over 30 days using self report.
LEWINSOHN 1974
Participants
30 people diagnosed with depression, a disorder other than depression and a ‘normal’ control group.
LEWINSOHN 1974
Procedure
This research operationalises positive reinforcement as taking part in pleasant activities. All participants were asked to check their mood daily using the depression adjective checklist which included emotions such as happy and active. Then they completed the pleasant activities scale, rating 320 activities such as talking about sports, meditating or doing yoga. These were rated twice on the scale of 3, once for pleasantness, once for frequency. This was seen as positive reinforcement.
LEWINSOHN 1974
Results
There were significant positive correlations between mood ratings and pleasant activities, with involvement in more pleasant activities being correlated with more positive mood ratings.
Individual differences from 0 to -0.66 shows there is more to depression than reinforcement from pleasant activities.
LEWINSOHN 1974
Conclusion
There appears to be a link between reinforcement from pleasant activities and mood but further research is needed to identify the individual characteristics that make some people more influenced by pleasant activities than others.
WENDER 1990
Background
Biological explanations assume that we may have genetic vulnerability to depression and that various neurotransmitters may have a role to play depression.
WENDER 1990
Aim
To investigate the contribution of genetic and environment factors in the aetiology of mood disorders. F
WENDER 1990
Participants
Adoptive and biological relatives of 71 adult adoptees, with a mean age of 44, who had a mood disorder. Plus 71 adult’s adoptees with a mean age of 44, who were psychologically normal. The adults had been removed from their mothers at an early age.
WENDER 1990
Procedure
Psychiatric evaluation of the relatives were made by independent blind diagnoses of mental hospital and other official records.
WENDER 1990
Results
There was an 8 fold increase in unipolar depression among the biological relatives of the adults and a 15 fold increase in suicide among the biological relatives of the adopted adults.
WENDER 1990
Conclusion
There is a significant genetic link between unipolar depression and suicide.
BECK 1961
Background
This approach makes the assumption that individuals suffering from depression have different thought processes to the rest of us who may occasionally experience low moods. Negative cognitive triad 1. Overgeneralisation 1 event makes influences other events 2. Non logical inference Infer without logical inference. 3. Dichotomous thinking Selective recall of negative events
BECK 1961
Aim
Understand cognitive distortions in patients with depression.
BECK 1961
Method
Clinical interviews with patients undergoing therapy for depression.
Independent measures design.
BECK 1961
Participants
50 people with depression Aged 18-48. Middle/upper class. Comparison with 31 non-depressed patients.
BECK 1961
Procedure
Face to face interviews, reports of patients’ thoughts before session and during. Dairies were sometimes kept of thoughts and brought to sessions.
BECK 1961
Results
Certain themes occurred in depressed patients that didn’t occur in non-depressed: low self-esteem, self-blame, overwhelming responsibilities, desire to escape, anxiety and paranoia.
Often regarded themselves as inferior, having stereotypical responses to situations.
Distortions were involuntary, plausible and persistent.
BECK 1961
Conclusion
Patients showed cognitive distortions that deviated from logical and realistic thinking. This is only related to depression and not other disorders. Shows that faulty thinking of people with depression and how the cognitive approach explains acquisition of faulty thinking.