p1 - psychopathology (depression). ✔️

Question 1

What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?

Answer 1

• Reduced activity levels - Lack of energy, withdrawn from work, school and social life.
• Disruption to sleep and eating behaviour - More or less.
• Aggression and self-harm.

Question 2

What are the cognitive characteristics of depression?

Answer 2

• Poor concentration.
• Absolutist thinking - All good or all bad. No middle ground.
• Dwelling on the negative.

Question 3

What are the emotional characteristics of depression?

Answer 3

• Lowered mood - More sever than just sad. ‘Worthless’ or ‘empty’.
• Low self-esteem.
• Anger.

Question 4

Which approach is used to explain depression?

Answer 4

Cognitive.

Question 5

What is Beck’s Cognitive Theory?

Answer 5

• Depression caused by the way people think (in a faulty way).
• Depressions occurs as a result of automatic faulty thoughts.
• 3 elements:
  — Faulty information processing: Focus on negative and ignore positives.
  — Negative self-schemas: Interpret all information about selves in a negative way.
  — The cognitive triad: 3 types of thinking that occur automatically. Negative views of the world, the future, and the self.

Question 6

What is Ellis’ ABC Model?

Answer 6

• Depression occurs as a result of irrational thinking.
• Irrational thoughts = Any thoughts that interfere with us being happy and free from emotional pain.
• Focuses on situations in which irrational thoughts are triggered by external events.
• Uses ABC model to explain how a depressed person thinks.

A - Activating event. Negative events trigger irrational beliefs.
B - Belief. Irrational beliefs such as ‘musturbation’ (the belief that we must always succeed) and utopianism (the belief that life is always unfair).
C - Consequences. Beliefs lead to emotional and behavioural consequences (depression).

Question 7

Advantages of cognitive explanations for depression?

Answer 7

• Research support.
  E - Grazioli + Terry (2000). Assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability before and after pregnancy. Found women judged to be high in cognitive vulnerability were more likely to suffer post-natal depression.
  E - Suggests depression is caused by faulty thinking and cognitions.
• Research support.
  E - Clarke + Berry (1999). Concluded there was solid research support for these cognitive vulnerability factors.
  E - Suggests cognitions are seen before depression occurs.
• Practical application.
  E - CBT.
  E - Useful.

Question 8

Disadvantages of cognitive explanations for depression?

Answer 8

• Research against.
  E - Seligman. Found over time he could teach dogs to passively accept an electric shock that they couldn’t avoid.
  E - Suggests that we learn helplessness.
• Cause and effect.
  E - Depression causes faulty thinking, rather than caused by faulty thinking.
  E - Cannot determine what is the cause or effect. Decreases validity.
• Alternative explanation.
  E - Biological approach. Low levels of serotonin cause depression, not cognitions.
  E - Not the whole picture, other factors involved.

Question 9

What is CBT?

Answer 9

• Talking therapy.
• Usually one to one, can be small groups.
• Most commonly prescribed talking therapy.
• Around 6 weeks.

Question 10

What are the CBT steps?

Answer 10

• Assessment - Patient and therapist work together to clarify problems.
• Identify - Negative or irrational thoughts that need to be challenged.
• Plan - Identify goals and put plan together.
• Challenge - Work through by challenging and changing thoughts. Take ideas from Beck and Ellis.
• Behaviour - Behaviour is changed because of changed thoughts.

Question 11

What is Beck’s Cognitive Therapy treatment of depression?

Answer 11

• Therapists will challenge the elements of the cognitive triad.
• Therapists will also set homework to investigate the reality of their negative beliefs.
• This is referred to as the ‘patient as scientist’.

Question 12

What is Ellis’ rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)?

Answer 12

• ABCDE model. D = dispute. E = effect.
• Disputing is key - can be empirical (where is the evidence?) or logical (does thought logically follow facts?).

Question 13

Advantages of cognitive treatments for depression?

Answer 13

• Research support to show effectiveness.
  E - March et al (2007). Compared CBT with antidepressants. After 36 weeks, 81% of CBT group, 81% of antidepressants group and 86% of both were significantly improved. CBT proved just as effective as medication.
  E - Suggests good case for making CBT first choice treatment as it doesn’t have any side effects.
• Extremely practical method of treating depression.
  E - Quick, cheap and has often positive outcomes.
  E - Most appropriate treatment for many patients due to economical and practical nature.

Answer 14

• CBT may not work as a standalone treatment for severe depression.
  E - Patients cannot motivate themselves to engage or pay attention.
  E - Means CBT is not always appropriate as it cannot be a sole treatment.
• Success may only be down to patient-therapist relationship.
  E - Rosenzweig (1936) suggests quality of relationship determines success rather than the therapy itself. Differences between psychotherapies, CBT and systematic desensitisation, is small.
  E - Suggests success may be dependant on therapist-patient relationship.
• Risk of overemphasis on cognitions.
  E - May minimise importance of circumstances patient is living in (poverty or abuse). Circumstances need to change, and therapy can prevent this.
  E - Reductionist. Will not work until circumstances change, or many demotivate people due to thoughts being challenged as irrational.