cognitive approach to explaining depression

what is the main assumption of the cognitive approach regarding depression?

faulty thoughts & cognitions lead to abnormal behaviour

how did beck explain depression?

faulty thoughts & cognitions → negative schema → NATs → cognitive bias → depression

what are NATs?

negative automatic thoughts that are misplaced & dysfunctional

what are cognitive biases?

irrational thoughts with tendencies to maximise failures & minimise successes

what examples of cognitive biases are there?

• minimisation

• selective abstraction

• maximisation

what is minimisation?

the bias towards minimising success e.g., good exam results are because it was an easy paper

what is maximisation?

the bias towards maximising the importance of even trivial failures e.g., not solving a crossword means they are stupid

what is selective abstraction?

a bias towards focusing on only the negative aspects of life

what is the negative triad?

3 negative schemata

• negative view of the self

• negative view of the world

• negative view of the future

how did ellis explain depression?

the ABC model where more irrational thoughts than rational ones result in psychological disturbance

what is the ABC model?

activating events in life are accompanied by beliefs which have consequences

what is mustubatory thinking?

thinking that certain ideas must be true in order to be happy e.g., i must do well in school

what are the strengths of the cognitive approach to explaining depression?

• research support - irrational thinking linked w depression - more errors in logic than non-depressed

• suggests client is responsible for disorder - emphasis on client - power - HOWEVER - may lead to overlooking external factors

• practical application - therapies - CBT - best treatment

what are the weaknesses of the cognitive approach to explaining depression?

• more suitable explanation - biological - genetic predisposal - neurotransmitters - hormones - serotonin - success of SSRIs