EXPLANATIONS FOR DEPRESSION (LEARNED HELPLESSNESS, SELIGMAN)

Question 1

How does Seligman explain depression?

Answer 1

• Through adverse life experiences, learned helplessness, and negative attriubutional styles.

Question 2

What is learned helplessness?

Answer 2

• A psychological condition in which an individual after experiencing repeated negative or uncontrollable events.
• Develops a belief that they have no control over their situation leading to resignation to circumstances (even when opportunities for improvement exist)

Question 3

What causes learned helplessness?

Answer 3

• Experiencing repeated negative or uncontrollable events (trauma)
• Generalising this helplessness to other areas of life (generalisations)

Question 4

How can learned helplessness lead to negative attributional styles?

Answer 4

• A person who experiences repeated negative experiences/ had a difficult upbringing may develop negative attributional styles.

Question 5

What are attributional styles?

Answer 5

• Refers to the habitual way a person explains the causes of events in their life (paticularly sucesses and failures). These explanations can be:

Internal or External – Cause within oneself vs. outside factors

Stable or Unstable – Cause is permanent vs. temporary

Global or Specific – Cause affects many areas vs. just one

CSGS

Question 6

Locus of control- attributional styles

Answer 6

The event is understood as internal or eternally caused.
Internal: “I failed because I’m not smart.”
External: “I failed because the test was unfair.”

Question 7

Stability- attributional style

Answer 7

The event has a permanent or temporary cause
Stable: “I’ll always be bad at math.”
Unstable: “I didn’t study enough this time.”

Question 8

Global vs specific- attributional styles

Answer 8

The applicability of an event to just one specific situation or many other situations (global).

Global: “I’m bad at everything.”
Specific: “I’m bad at algebra, but good at writing.

Question 9

What was the aims of Seligman (1988) study into attributional styles?

Answer 9

To investigate whether attributional styles could predict depressive symptoms.

Question 10

Methology- Seligman (1988)

Answer 10

• Self-report method
• Correlational study
• Use of BDI, ASQ

Question 11

Describe the sample of Seligman (1988)

Answer 11

• *Experimental groups: Clinical group vs non clinical group. 61 ppts total.
• Clinical group: All from an American outpatient clinic, all experiencing a depressive episode. Mixed genders. Mean age of 36.
  39 depressive patients. 12 bipolar patients.
• Non-clinical group: 10 pptts

Question 12

Describe the procedure?

Answer 12

1. Completed BDI
2. Completed Attributional Style Questionnaire

Question 13

Results?

Answer 13

• Bipolar, depressive patients had a more pessimistic, negative attributional style than control.
• The more the severe the BDI scores, the worser the pessimism on the ASQ.
• Correlation between improvements in BDI and improved attributional styles in depressive patients undergoing CBT.

Question 14

Strengths/ weaknesses of Seligman’s (1988)?

Answer 14

• Strength = Standardised questionnaires, inc replicability, reliability.
• Weakness- Reliance on self-report measures (social desirability)

Question 15

What is the Attributional Style Questionnaire?

Answer 15

A psychological tool used to measure a person’s explanatory style, by presenting
12 hypothetical good and bad events, and the ppts is required rate each cause on a 7 point scale based on 3 dimentions (internal vs external, stable vs unstable, global vs specific)