Becks negative triad- evaluations

Strength- supporting research

'Cognitive vulnerability' refers to ways of thinking that may predispose a person to becoming depressed, for example faulty information processing, negative self schema and the cognitive triad.

In a review, David Clark and Aaron Beck concluded that not only were these cognitive vulnerabilities more common in people with depression but they preceded the depression.

They tracked the development of 474 adolescents, regularly measuring cognitive vulnerability. It was found that showing cognitive vulnerability later predicted depression.

This shows that there is an association between cognitive vulnerability and depression ​

Limitation- there is some research that does not support Beck’s findings

Beck's theory would predict that high self-criticism and low self-esteem (both measures of negative self-belief) in early adolescence should predict depression in later adolescence.

However, Gittins and Hunt found that self-criticism and depression were unrelated.

They also found that, although self-esteem and depression were related, depression appeared first and was therefore probably not the result of low self-esteem.

This means that cognitive vulnerability may not actually lead to depression as Beck believed

Limitation- there is doubt whether cognitive vulnerability is a good explanation for depression

People with depression tend to show particular patterns of cognition, and these can usually be seen before the onset of depression.

It therefore appears that Beck's suggestion of cognitive vulnerability is at least a partial explanation for depression.

However, there are some aspects to depression that are not particularly well explained by cognitive explanations.

For example, some people with depression feel extreme anger and some experience hallucinations and delusions. 

This means that cognitive explanations may only provide a partial explanation for depression ​

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