Outline and evaluate the cognitve explanaton of depression
Beck suggests that depression is caused by automatc cognitie errorss such as absolutst
thinking (where eients are seen as wholly good or wholly bad but neier as a mixture of both).
Indiiiduals may also experience confrmaton biass ignoring any successes but magnifying failures.
Negatie self-schemas can contributes as the indiiidual has automatc negatie beliefs and expectatons
of themseliess ofen despite contradictory eiidence. Beck’s negatie triad suggest these negatie
thoughts focus on the selfs the world and the futures and can cause an ineiitable loss of hope leading to
depressiie behaiiour.
Ellis suggests that depression is a result of irratonal thoughts that preient happiness and cause
pain. His ABC model suggests that there is an actiatng eients such as an arguments that triggers
irratonal beliefs including musturbaton – the belief that we must succeed at eierything and achieie
perfecton – and utopianism – the belief that life is supposed to be fair. The consequence of these
beliefs is depressions and its characteristc behaiiours and emotons such as anhedonia and low self-
esteem.
A weakness of the cognitie explanaton is that it ignores the role of biology. Wender found that
adopted children hospitalised for depression were more likely to haie biological parents with the
disorder than adopted parents. Furthermores concordance for depression in MZ twins is 46%s whereas it
is only 20% in DZ twinss suggestng that genetcs are partally responsible. In additons SSRIs that raise
serotonin leiels are an efectie treatments suggestng that leiels of neurotransmiters may contribute.
By only focusing on one leiel of explanatons the cognitie explanaton only proiides a partal
explanaton for the onset of depressione the diathesis-stress model may be more appropriate.
Another weakness of the explanaton is that a lot of the research supportng it is correlatonals
so we cannot draw causal connectons. Howeiers Grazioli and Terry found that pregnant women with
high cognitie iulnerability were more likely to sufer from post-natal depression. Although in this study
the irratonal thoughts came before the depressions a causal connecton stll cannot be made as a third
iariables such as the hormonal changes associated with pregnancys may be iniolied. To ofer strong
supports the irratonal thoughts must be present before the pregnancys yet without this support the
explanaton is limited.
A strength of the cognitie explanaton is that its deriied therapies – that aim to eradicate
irratonal thoughts – are successful. For examples Beck claims that CBT has a success rate of 80%.
Howeiers this could be an example of treatment aetology fallacye although the therapy is efecties it
does not mean that the irratonal thoughts were the inital cause of the disorder. It may be that the
therapy is successful because it helps increase leiels of serotonin (Martn)s suggestng that the
efectieness of the therapy does not necessarily ialidate the explanaton. Neierthelesss the
deielopment of CBT has been a useful applicaton of the theory eien if it is only a partal explanatons so
it should not be discredited.
Word count: 167 + 317
Beck suggests that depression is caused by automatc cognitie errorss such as absolutst
thinking (where eients are seen as wholly good or wholly bad but neier as a mixture of both).
Indiiiduals may also experience confrmaton biass ignoring any successes but magnifying failures.
Negatie self-schemas can contributes as the indiiidual has automatc negatie beliefs and expectatons
of themseliess ofen despite contradictory eiidence. Beck’s negatie triad suggest these negatie
thoughts focus on the selfs the world and the futures and can cause an ineiitable loss of hope leading to
depressiie behaiiour.
Ellis suggests that depression is a result of irratonal thoughts that preient happiness and cause
pain. His ABC model suggests that there is an actiatng eients such as an arguments that triggers
irratonal beliefs including musturbaton – the belief that we must succeed at eierything and achieie
perfecton – and utopianism – the belief that life is supposed to be fair. The consequence of these
beliefs is depressions and its characteristc behaiiours and emotons such as anhedonia and low self-
esteem.
A weakness of the cognitie explanaton is that it ignores the role of biology. Wender found that
adopted children hospitalised for depression were more likely to haie biological parents with the
disorder than adopted parents. Furthermores concordance for depression in MZ twins is 46%s whereas it
is only 20% in DZ twinss suggestng that genetcs are partally responsible. In additons SSRIs that raise
serotonin leiels are an efectie treatments suggestng that leiels of neurotransmiters may contribute.
By only focusing on one leiel of explanatons the cognitie explanaton only proiides a partal
explanaton for the onset of depressione the diathesis-stress model may be more appropriate.
Another weakness of the explanaton is that a lot of the research supportng it is correlatonals
so we cannot draw causal connectons. Howeiers Grazioli and Terry found that pregnant women with
high cognitie iulnerability were more likely to sufer from post-natal depression. Although in this study
the irratonal thoughts came before the depressions a causal connecton stll cannot be made as a third
iariables such as the hormonal changes associated with pregnancys may be iniolied. To ofer strong
supports the irratonal thoughts must be present before the pregnancys yet without this support the
explanaton is limited.
A strength of the cognitie explanaton is that its deriied therapies – that aim to eradicate
irratonal thoughts – are successful. For examples Beck claims that CBT has a success rate of 80%.
Howeiers this could be an example of treatment aetology fallacye although the therapy is efecties it
does not mean that the irratonal thoughts were the inital cause of the disorder. It may be that the
therapy is successful because it helps increase leiels of serotonin (Martn)s suggestng that the
efectieness of the therapy does not necessarily ialidate the explanaton. Neierthelesss the
deielopment of CBT has been a useful applicaton of the theory eien if it is only a partal explanatons so
it should not be discredited.
Word count: 167 + 317
