1. The Cognitive Approach to Explaining Depression
Psychopathology – Unit 1
The Cognitive Approach to Explaining Depression

2. Characteristics of Depression
Depression is an affective mood disorder involving lengthy disruption of emotions. About 20% of people will suffer from some form of depression throughout their lifetimes, with women twice as vulnerable as men.
At least 5 symptoms must be apparent every day for 2 weeks for depression to be diagnosed by a doctor, with an impairment in general functioning also evident. One of these symptoms must be a constant depressed mood or lessened interest in daily activities.

3. Major depressive disorder Persistent depressive disorder
Types of Depression
Type of depression
Description
Major depressive disorder
Severe but often short-term depression
Persistent depressive disorder
Long-term or recurring depression- also called dysthymic depression
Unipolar depression
Sufferers only experience depression and not manic episodes. Clinical symptoms usually occur in cycles.
Bipolar depression
Sufferers experience mixed episodes of mania and depression.

4. On the white boards
Using this mnemonic, recall the characteristics of depression Emotional – WALL Cognitive – CND Behavioural – SPEWS Cant remember? – then use your pack on pages 12 and 13

5. Depression- SPEWS CND WALL
Sleep disturbance Concentration problems
Personal hygiene Negative schemas
Energy-loss of Death (thoughts of)
Weight (gain or loss)
Social impairment Worthlessness
Anger
Loss of enthusiasm
Lowered mood

6. The Cognitive Approach
The underlying assumption of the cognitive explanation is that depression is the result of disturbance in ‘thinking’.
In terms of understanding abnormality, cognitive psychologists are most concerned with how irrational thinking leads to a mental disorder.
Since depression is very much characterised by faulty and negative thinking, cognitive explanations are particularly appropriate.

7. The Cognitive Approach
There are two examples of the cognitive approach to explaining depression developed by:
Albert Ellis (1962) – ABC Model
Aaron Beck – Cognitive Triad
In pairs, take one explanation. Read through it and understand it.
Then explain it to your partner.
The catch is you can’t use notes…

8. Cognitive explanation of Depression
Depression is the result of a disturbance in thinking
What three things make up Ellis’ ABC model?
Activating event, Belief, Consequence
What might a depressed person think if their friend did not return a text?
Give an example of ‘mustabatory’ thinking (Ellis)
I must get an A* on this test or there’s no point me being at college
What is meant by negative schema? (Beck)
A mental framework in which we interpret information – like a unit of knowledge or stereotype.
Give an example of the cognitive bias of catastrophising
‘Oh no, I didn’t put enough salt in the starter and now the whole dinner party is ruined’
What three things make up the negative triad?
The Self, the World, the Future

9. Ellis’ ABC Model (1962)

10. Beck’s Cognitive Triad
Negative Self-Schemas
Cognitive biases
The Negative Triad
The self
The world
The future

11. Evaluation
What evidence is there to suggest faulty cognitions play a role in depression?
Do irrational thoughts cause depression or does depression cause irrational thoughts?
Who does the cognitive approach blame for depression experienced? Why is this approach seen as a more positive/useful approach than a biological approach?
Why is this a problem?
THINK: how might biological factors be involved in the development of depression?

12. Evaluation
This activity is designed for you to create developed evaluations that show consideration of two sides of an argument.
I would like you to record your ideas in your own words do not copy from the pack! The point of the PES has been done for you.
This activity is essentially planning an evaluation section to the essay title:
“Describe and evaluate the cognitive approach as an explanation of depression” (16 marks)

13. Evidence exists…
Boury et al. (2001) monitored students’ negative thoughts with the Beck depression inventory (BDI), finding that depressives misinterpret facts and experiences in a negative fashion and feel hopeless about the future, giving support to Beck’s cognitive explanation.
Koster et al. (2005) presented participants with either a positive, negative or neutral word on a screen, after which a square appeared and participants pressed a button to say which area of the screen the square appeared in. Depressed participants took longer to disengage from the negative words than non-depressed participants, which suggest that depressives were focusing more on the negative words in line with Beck’s theory.

14. Yes, but…
Most evidence linking negative thinking to depression is correlational and doesn’t indicate negative thoughts causing depression. So it is still unclear whether there is a cause and effect relationship. Does depression cause negative thinking? Or do negative thoughts cause depression?
Beck came to believe it was a bi-directional relationship, where both elements influence each other.

15. Responsibility with patient…
The cognitive approach has shown to be successful in treating depression with cognitive therapies allowing the person to challenge components of the negative triad

16. However…
Depression is a very complex disorder and although both Beck and Ellis’ theories attempt to explain why some people appear to be more vulnerable to depression as a result of their cognitions they do not explain all aspects of depression.
For example, the cognitive approach does not consider the role of biological factors, such as a chemical imbalance in the brain as a cause of depression. There is a lot of research to support the role of low serotonin levels and a genetic vulnerability in depressed people.

17. Knowledge check activity
Outline Ellis’ ABC model (4 marks)
What is meant by the term mustabatory thinking? Give examples in your answer (4 marks)
Explain why mustabatory thinking increases the likelihood of depression and what it is (4 marks)
Outline Becks’s cognitive triad (4 marks)

18. Exam practice
Ewan has just been diagnosed with depression having felt overwhelmed with despair for the last 12 weeks. His doctor suggested that the cause of this was the fact that Ewan’s long-term partner walked out on him three months ago. When this happened, Ewan convinced himself that he would never find himself another boyfriend.
Using Ellis’ ABC model, explain why Ewan is suffering from depression (6 marks)

19. Becks negative triad
On the following slide are some true or false questions
If it is true then expand on the answer
If it is false then correct the statement.
Group 1- statement 1+2
Group 2- statement 3+4
Group 3- statement 5+6
Group 4- statement 7+1
Group 5- statement 2+3
Group 6- statement 4+5
If you finish: what are the similarities and differences between Beck and Ellis’ explanations?

20. True or False?
1.Aaron Beck developed a cognitive explanation for all mental disorders.
2. Beck believed that if our thinking is biased towards negative interpretations of the world, we are likely to suffer from depression.
3. A schema is a cognitive framework that helps organise and interpret information. Schemas help us to make sense of the world.
4. Depressed people have developed a negative schema during childhood.
5. Negative schemas are activated whenever a person encounters a new situation that resembles the original conditions in which the schemas were learned
6. Negative schemas lead to systematic behavioural biases
7. Negative schemas and cognitive biases maintain what Beck calls the negative triad: a pessimistic and irrational view of the four key elements in a person’s belief system.

21. Answers: False: explanation focused specifically on depression
True: depressed patients also lack any perceived control over events in the world
True: could give an example e.g. schema for restaurant means we know how to act when visiting a new establishment for dinner
False: developed during childhood due to a variety of factors, including parental/peer rejection, criticism by teachers
True: example of expecting to fail (schema) and exam (event) could be given
False: leads to ‘cognitive biases’ in thinking
False: there are three key elements.

22. Key Terms
Choose 6 of the following words and write a brief description of them, linking to describe cognitive explanations of depression.
Irrational thoughts
Ellis
Activating event
Beck
Negative self schemas
Emotion
The negative triad
Self-blame schema
Irrational Belief
Mustabatory thinking
Cognitive bias
Overgeneralisation

23. Plenary: AO1 ‘selectivity’ task
“Describe and evaluate the cognitive approach as an explanation of depression” (16 marks)
Plan what you would write in the AO1 section for this exam question.
There is lots of information in your pack so you must select 6 key terms that you think are the most important things to include.
You have to summarise these in approx. 25 words.
Remember it is only worth 6 marks!
This activity should be done with no notes but you can discuss in pairs or on your table.
Key term
Summary (25 words)