These notes include everything you need to know for the 'cognitive approach to explain and treat depression'. E.g., Beck's negative triad and Ellis' ABC model etc. Evaluation paragraphs (positive and negative) are included and encouraged to be used in 16 markers. This is relavent for any of those ...
The Cognitive Approach to Explaining Depression – notes
Becks Negative Triad:
Human behaviour is influenced by schemas, which are organised systems and knowledge that we
use to understand the world.
dramatic and negative events in early life can need to automatic negative thoughts, these
thoughts might be the result of parent/peer criticism. -> For example, failure at school might lead
to the schema ‘I will always be unsuccessful’
the schema is are triggered when the person encounters a situation that is similar to the original.
These negative schema lead to errors in logic and they tend to draw illogical conclusions -> for
example, believing you are stupid and will fail all exams due to getting lower than normal mark
on a test (errors=cognitive distortions/biases).
he suggested that these biases maintain the negative triad when is made up of use of the self
and negative views of the world also negative views of the future.
Ellis’ ABC Model:
(a) Activating events
(b) lead to certain beliefs
(c) with the result of an emotional response or action -> the consequence
He suggested that people can have rational beliefs about an event and that they will act on this
rationally and this will lead to desirable emotions.
However, abnormality is due to irrational thoughts which may lead to psychological disturbance
and behaviour. -> it is not the event itself that causes depression but the irrational beliefs.
these irrational beliefs are due to ‘mustabatory thinking’ -> Thinking that certain ideas must be
true in order to be happy
Rational thinking:
A (fail mock exam) -> B (I need to try harder) -> C (emotion – determination, behaviour – revise
more)
Irrational thinking:
A (fail mock exam) -> B (I can’t sit exams) -> C (emotion – feels worthless, behaviour – leave
college)
Evaluation:
The effectiveness of the therapies is based on the approach of CBT and REBT -> The treatments
aim to change faulty thought processes to more positive ones and is relatively successful in
helping people with depression and success rates are usually around 40-50%.
Seligman's research into ‘learned helplessness’ shape the animals (dogs) who could do nothing
about this situation learned to be helplessly to own when they were given the chance to do
something about their situation. for example, jumping over a divide to escape an electric
shock. dogs were previously unable to escape the electric shocks still remained helpless when
receiving shocks even when they were able to escape them.
It may not be possible to establish cause and effect -> it's possible that faulty thought process
is I just a symptom of depression. Gotlib and Colby found that people who are formally
depressed are actually no different from people who have never been depressed in terms of
their tendencies to view negative events with an alternative of helpless resignation. This
suggests that helplessness could be a symptom rather than a cause of depression.
Ellis’ and Beck’s theories are limited as they cannot explain certain depressive symptoms. for
example, people with depression often experience anger -> severe versions can lead to
hallucinating and delusions. suggesting that neither can account for these symptoms and this
makes theories incomplete as explanations of depression.
The Cognitive Approach to Treating Depression
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