Psypath: cog. approach to explaining depression AO1 + 3 Flashcards
What do cognitive theories say is the cause of depression?
Cognitive distortions -> dysfunctional/irrational thinking
What 3 biases does faulty information processing lead to?
Overgeneralisation- extreme beliefs on basis of 1 incident + applying it to a diff/dissimilar/inappropriate situ. (e.g. depressed women had issues w/boss, thinks she is failure in all relationships).
Absolutist thinking- ‘all or nothing’/’good or bad’/’either -or’ approach to world, e.g. believing you are perfect/totally incompetent.
Catastrophising- minor setback=exaggerated + viewed as disastrous (e.g. fail in 1 test=will never succeed at school/uni + get a good job.
What is a schema?
Cognitive framework/mental reps of knowledge that help interpret the world, developed in childhood.
used to navigate a complex world- leads to oversimplification
3 examples of negative schema
ineptness sch- sufferers expect to fail.
Self-blame sch- feels responsible for misfortunes.
Negative self-evaluation sch- reminds them of worthlessness.
What is the cognitive triad?
Negative views abt world/future/oneself.
World- impression there is no hope anywhere.
Future- reduces hopefulness + enhances depression.
Oneself- enhances depressive feelings- confirm low self-esteem
Ellis’ ABC model says depression caused by?
irrational thinking
What are Activating events?
An adversity or event to which there is a reaction.
e.g. ignored by a friend at school.
What is the role of Beliefs (ABC)?
Belief or explanation abt why behaviour occurred (irrational).
e.g. rational=friend is busy, irrational=friend dislikes you.
What are Consequences in Ellis’ model?
Feelings + behaviour belief causes- the external event is ‘blamed’ for unhappiness being experienced.
e.g. will ignore friend + delete number- they don’t want to talk to me.
What is mustabatory thinking?
source of irrational beliefs- thinking certain ideas/assumptions must be true for an individual to be happy.
1- Must be approved of/accepted by ppl I find important.
2- Must do well/very well.
3- World must give me happiness or I’ll die.
Ppl w/expectations will be disappointed + risk depression.
Ppl who fail exam gets depressed because they hold an irrational belief regarding the failure (means they’re stupid).
Irrational thinking should be challenged + changed to positive beliefs
Strength Beck- faulty info processing linked to depression, predisposes ppl to depression
E- Clark & Beck’s lit review concluded these were more common in depressed people, but preceded the symptoms.
E- supported in prospective study by Cohen et al., followed 472 adolescents + confirmed cognitive vulnerability predicted later depression.
L- temporal precedence of evidence of cognitive vulnerability (CV) supports association w/ CV can lead to depressive symptoms.
Strength Beck- cog model of depression + application in screening + treatment
E- Cohen et al- ability to identify CV in high-risk ppl before depressive symptoms allowed monitoring + offered acute phase of symptom expression.
E- application of understanding CV supported the application of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Gautum- research has consistently found CBT to be one of most effective treatments for depression- challenging irrational beliefs/thoughts.
L- ev supports application of Beck’s model for screening + early treatment intervention strategies
Strength cog. expl- neg manipulation of cognition can exacerbate symptoms
E- Boury et al- pts w/depression would misinterpret info negatively (cog. Bias) + feel hopeless abt their future (cog. triad).
E- demonstrated presence of altered cognitive processes in depression- supported by Bates et al.- gave depressed pts neg automatic thought statements to read + found their symptoms worsened.
L- support the comps of Beck’s theory + idea that neg thinking involved in depression (manipulating cognition in pos treatment + neg directions- expected symptom change occurs)
limitation cog expl- reductionist, only considers role of thinking
E- depression neg/irrational thinking i.e. mustabatory thinking, doesn’t consider other symptoms (e.g. anger).
E- assumption ignores the bio research indication that depression can be due to low lvls of serotonin, + SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) can be effective.
L- so, the cog. approach=too simplistic- doesn’t account for all depressive phenomena, + other approaches need consideration, offering a more holistic view of depression
limitation ABC- only explains reactive, not endogenous, depression
E- response to ‘activating events’, life events that can trigger depression are likely to be partly affected by our beliefs.
However, many causes of depression aren’t traceable to specific life events + the precipitating cause is not readily identifiable.
E- termed ‘endogenous depression’ and Ellis’ ABC is less effective in explaining.
L- means Ellis’ model can only explain some cases of depression, and is only a partial explanation.
