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Cognitive Approach on Depression - Coggle Diagram
Cognitive Approach on Depression
Aaron Beck (1967) believed that there were 3 mechanisms that caused depression
the cognitive triad, negative self schemas, and errors in logic
The Cognitive Triad of Negative Automatic Thinking
3 forms of negative thinking (typical of individuals with depression)
Self, world, and future
view themselves as inadequate, helpless, or worthless
Have an unrealistically, negatively distorted interpretation of events in a defeatist way. View the world as an obstacle that they cannot handle
View their future as worthless because their belief that they are worthless prevents improvement in their situation
Interaction between these interferes with normal cognitive processing
Leads to impairments in perception, memory, and problem solving without the person becoming obsessed with negative thoughts
Automatic in those who are depressed & occurred spontaneously
Negative Self Schemas
Possessing a set of beliefs and expectations about oneself that are negative and pessimistic
Can be acquired from a traumatic childhood experience
Contributing experiences to negative self schemas:
Death of parent or sibling
Parental rejection, criticism, overprotection, neglect, or abuse
Bullying at school or exclusion from a peer group
Predisposes an individual to depression
someone who has acquired triad will not necessarily develop depression
A negative self schema developed later in life must be triggered by a stressful life event
People with negative self schemas are more prone to developing errors in logic
Errors in Logic (i.e. faulty information processing
tend to focus on on certain aspects of a situation while simultaneously ignoring equally relevant information
Becomes automatic over time
Negative thoughts persist even with contrary evidence
Systematic negative bias in information processing
They are illogical thought patterns that are self-defeating and can cause great anxiety or depression for an individual
Arbitrary Interference
Creating a negative conclusion in the absence of supportive data
Selective Abstraction
Focusing on the worst aspects of a situation
Magnification and Minimization
Problems are made to be bigger than they are and solutions are made to be smaller
Personalization
Believe that negative events are their fault
Dichotomous Thinking
See the world through a narrow view - black and white, no in between
Exacerbated by the Cognitive Triad
the theoretical assumption assumes that
the patterns of information processing or the way that an individual interprets life events and experiences affects the development of the disorder
Studies
Abramson, Seligman, Teasdale (2011)
Introduced cognitive version of
learned helplessness
in the term
attributional processes
(how people explain cause of event)
Attributional style is based on 3 dimensions
Locus
Whether cause is internal (to do with themself) or external (to do with an aspect of situation
Stability
Whether cause is stable and permanent or unstable and transient
Global or Specific
Whether cause relates to "whole" person or a specific characteristic/feature
The mere presence of a negative event did not suffice in producing a negative or helpless state
Researchers argued that people who attribute failure to "internal, stable, and global" are more likely to develop depression than "external, unstable, and specific"
"external, unstable, and specific" suggests that one cannot change their situation for the better
Example: Your cellphone was solen
external: you were in a notoriously unsafe environment
unstable: you were randomly chosen by thief
specific: happened during Christmas rush
Martin Seligman (1974)
Proposed the explanation of depression called "learned helplessness"
theory stated that:
Depression occurs when a person learns their attempts to escape a negative situation make no difference
One will become passive and endure aversive stimuli or environments even when escape is possible
Research was done on dogs
A dog was put into a cage and learns to escape when the floor is electrified (when it is shocked)
The dog was restrained and eventually stopped trying to escape when being shocked
After being subjected to inescapable electric shocks, the dog was unable to escape even when they were no longer restrained
Dogs began to exhibit some symptoms of depression (lethargy, sluggishness, passive when stressed, appetite loss)
Results gave Seligman explanation of depression because of learned helplessness
Individual gives up trying to influence (or change) their environment after learning their efforts are not making and influence and find themselves helpless
Explanation fails to account for cognition (thoughts)
Alloy et al. (1999)
Followed thinking styles of young Americans in their early 20s for 6 years and were categorized by "positive" and "negative" thinking groups
It was found that 1% of positive group and 17% from the negative group developed depression
Suggests link between cognitive style and the development of depression
Study suffers from demand characteristics
Results are correlational
Precise role of cognitive processes is yet to be determined
Maladaptive cognitions seen in depressed people may have been a consequence rather than cause of depression
Other studies
Joiner et al (1996)
Patterns of cognition are not enough to cause depression -- must be a response to environmental stimuli
Nolen-Hoeksema (2000)
Rumination appears to more consistently predict onset depression instead of duration
Rumination with negative cognitive styles can predict the duration of depressive symptoms
Farb et al (2011)
Relapsing patients show more activity in brain's frontal lobe -- medial prefrontal gyrus -- also linked to higher rumination