DEPRESSION

Cognitive explanations of depression

Ao2

What did it show?

ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY

ETHICS

ANTHROPOMORPHIC

SELIGMAN

GROUP ONE– Harnessed up and then let go.

GROUP TWO - Dogs subjected to ELECTRIC SHOCK (with no way of controlling this)

Day TWO

Dogs then placed in a SHUTTLE BOX – The boxes were split into two sides, one where dogs were subjected to electric shocks, one where the dogs were safe.

Could avoid shocks by jumping across barrier.

Group one dogs jumped over.

WHAT DO YOU THINK GROUP TWO DOGS DID?

HIROTO, 1974

PPT’s exposed to LOUD, UNPLEASANT NOISE which they couldn’t turn off.

Faced in front of a FINGER SHUTTLE BOX (had a handle of the top)

Moving handle stopped noise.

When NOISE began they PASSIVELY ACCEPTED IT

PPT’s who hadn’t been exposed to noise learned to move the handle

and stop the noise.

Seligman’s hopelessness theory of depression

An attribution is an explanation of why something happens (the cause of behaviour)

Depression results from the explanations people give for their behaviours.

Depressed people attribute behaviour to three causes

1) Internal –coming from within- blame themselves

2) Stable – an enduring trait-things will always be that way

3) Global – affects all aspects of life

Example

“I’m inadequate, I will always be inadequate and I am inadequate at everything”

Evidence for

Metalsky (1987) looked at students who did badly in their psychology exam.

Two days after, those who attributed failure to internal, stable and global causes continued to be mildly depressed.

Students who made different attributionse.g. ‘the exam was really hard’ had recovered.

AO2 – LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

CAUSE or EFFECT? – Does depression cause learned helplessness?

ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY – e.g. Hiroto and Seligman

Evidence against

Cannot generalise Metalsky’s study to major depressive disorder which is more severe.

Cannot explain where attributions come from in the first place – problems with addressing this.

Do attributions precede or follow depression – difficult to establish cause and effect.

Often done in LABS (e.g. Hiroto and Seligman)

When done with humans, samples are often STUDENTS – SAMPLE BIAS.

Much evidence comes from ATTRIBUTIONAL BIAS QUESTIONNAIRE - some researchers believe forces people into a type of thinking that doesn’t reflect that of real life (ANDERSON ET AL, 1994)

Beck’s cognitive theory of depression

Emotions are controlled by cognitive schemas (mental constructions of the world).

People’s experiences are understood in the light of these schemas.

Schemas develop as a result of childhood experience.

Beck’s cognitive theory of depression

Emotions are controlled by cognitive schemas (mental constructions of the world).

People’s experiences are understood in the light of these schemas.

Schemas develop as a result of childhood experience.

Negative thinking

People who become depressed have negative cognitive schemas

This can lead to errors in thinking. Examples include overgeneralisation or selective abstraction.

Example

OVERGENERALISATION – drawing a conclusion from a particular event and applying it generally

SELECTIVE ABSTRACTION – forming conclusions based on isolated detail whilst ignoring contradictory evidence

Cognitive triad

Errors in thinking can produce a negative cognitive triad – negative views of (1) self (2) world and (3) future

“I am worthless, the world is a miserable place, the future is hopeless”

Evidence for

Research indicates that compared to nondepressed people, depressed individuals have more negative

thoughts about themselves, the world and the future.

Evidence against

However, does negative thinking precede the onset of depression or does it result from it.

According to Davison & Neale (1998) ‘ depression can make thinking more negative, and negative thinking can probably cause and worsen depression’.

LONGITUDINAL STUDIES

More of these are needed

BARLOW and DURAND (1999)

Temple Wisconsin study - non-depressed university students

First two years of this study suggests NEGATIVE thinking precedes DEPRESSION.

17% of high risk ppts (high scores on negative thinking) at the

beginning of the study started went on to develop depression as

opposed to 1% of low risk ppt’s (low scores on negative thinking)

Evaluation of cognitive theory

takes account of cognitions and looks at depression from the patients perspective. Important to be patient focused. Cognitions may vary from person to person.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS– success of CBT based on Beck’s theory (used extensively on the NHS)

CAUSE and EFFECT issues

ETHICAL ISSUES– blames the individual for their own negative thoughts

REDUCTIONIST

DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL

Interaction between DIATHESIS (predisposition) and STRESS (from the environment)

Caused by ‘TRIGGERS’.

Stressful events may lead to depression.

WEISSMAN et al, 1991 – depression rates from people who are SEPARATED/DIVORCED is 3 TIMES HIGHER than in married people.

TAKES INTO ACCOUNT different theories (e.g. Lock and key, genetics) but also

accounts for ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS.