THEORY
- According to cognitivists, the main cause of depression is cognition.
- Irrational or unhelpful thoughts, beliefs or perceptions can create negative emotional states, and ultimately, lead to depression.
STUDY
BECK (1967) - Beck's Negative Triad:
BECK (1967) claimed that negative schemas can develop in response to unhappy childhood experiences such as rejection or criticism. These negative schemas create systematic cognitive biases which result in everything being viewed in a negative light. Common examples include:
- Overgeneralisation - Making general conclusions based on single negative events EG: "I can't cook", based on one burnt cake.
- Magnification - Exaggerating small problems into far larger ones.
- SELF - "I'm worthless"
- WORLD - "Nothing good happens to me" or "Nobody likes me"
- FUTURE - "Nothing's ever going to get better"
ELLIS (1962) - Ellis's ABC Model:
ELLIS (1962) believed that people with depression mistakenly blame external events for their illness. He believed it was their interpretation of these events that was to blame for their depression.He developed the ABC model to explain the process. The model can be described as "as I think, so I feel (and do)!"
Non-depressed people may react completely differently to an activating event, such as failing mock exams, believing that they did their best. The consequent emotion here might be to be motivated to do better. The difference between depressed and non-depressed individuals, then, is self-perception.
- A - Activating Event EG: fail mock exam leads to...
- B - Beliefs about the Event EG: I can't do exams, leads to...
- C - Consequence EG: leave college, or get depressed.
Non-depressed people may react completely differently to an activating event, such as failing mock exams, believing that they did their best. The consequent emotion here might be to be motivated to do better. The difference between depressed and non-depressed individuals, then, is self-perception.