Research Summaries
Davison and Neale (1994)
Discovered that cultural differences interfere with valid diagnoses, in Asian cultures, a
person experiencing emotional disturbance is praised if they do not express their feelings. In
some Arabic cultures however, outpouring emotions is encouraged. A person from one of
these backgrounds may be considered abnormal by a clinician who does not understand the
culture.
Gershon (1990)
Reviewed 10 family studies and found that the rate of depression was 2-3 times higher in
first degree relatives of peo0ple with depression (parents, siblings, children) compared to
the general public.
Hammack et al (2011)
Linked learned helplessness to brain function. Discovered that serotonin is linked to feelings
of helplessness as well as activity in the amygdala.
Hollon et al (2005)
Treated patients for 16 weeks, and then observed them for 12 months to see if they
relapsed into their depressive behaviours. Patients were split into 3 groups:
1) Those treated with CBT
2) Those treated with drug therapy
3) Those treated with drug therapy who continued to receive the drug therapy
throughout the 12 month observation period.
31% of patients who received CBT suffered a relapse, 76% of those who had drug therapy
suffered relapse, and 47% of those who continued drug therapy suffered a relapse.
Kirsch (2008)
Reviewed 47 trials of patients with mild or severe depression, who were prescribed either an
SSRI antidepressant or a placebo. Patients with severe depression did show a statistically
greater response to the antidepressants than placebos, but patients with mild depression
showed the same improvement with antidepressants and placebos. This shows that
antidepressants do work, but lots of their success can be explained by the placebo effect.
Additionally this study questions whether or not mild depression is over diagnosed.
Leichsenring (2001)
Carried out meta-analysis to compare modern psychoanalysis and CBT, and found them to
be equally effective in 58 of 60 cases.
Lewisohn et al (2001)
Measured negative thinking in participants who did not have a history of depression. A year
later, those who scored highest for negative thinking were more likely to have developed
depression in response to negative life events, this supports the idea that faulty cognitions
cause depression.
Rayner et al (2006)
Looked at brain scans of 59 people with unipolar depression and found areas of the
prefrontal cortex were overactive that dealt with unpleasant memories, guilty feelings, and
“brooding”. He also found that they had less activity in areas of the brain to do with
decisiveness and concentration.
Segal et al (2006)
Tested patients who had recovered from depression after receiving either drug therapy of
CBT, patients were made to feel sad – they listened to a piece of dreary classical music at
half speed, and were asked to think about times in their life when they had been unhappy.
Then they filled in a questionnaire to measure negative thoughts, those who and received
Davison and Neale (1994)
Discovered that cultural differences interfere with valid diagnoses, in Asian cultures, a
person experiencing emotional disturbance is praised if they do not express their feelings. In
some Arabic cultures however, outpouring emotions is encouraged. A person from one of
these backgrounds may be considered abnormal by a clinician who does not understand the
culture.
Gershon (1990)
Reviewed 10 family studies and found that the rate of depression was 2-3 times higher in
first degree relatives of peo0ple with depression (parents, siblings, children) compared to
the general public.
Hammack et al (2011)
Linked learned helplessness to brain function. Discovered that serotonin is linked to feelings
of helplessness as well as activity in the amygdala.
Hollon et al (2005)
Treated patients for 16 weeks, and then observed them for 12 months to see if they
relapsed into their depressive behaviours. Patients were split into 3 groups:
1) Those treated with CBT
2) Those treated with drug therapy
3) Those treated with drug therapy who continued to receive the drug therapy
throughout the 12 month observation period.
31% of patients who received CBT suffered a relapse, 76% of those who had drug therapy
suffered relapse, and 47% of those who continued drug therapy suffered a relapse.
Kirsch (2008)
Reviewed 47 trials of patients with mild or severe depression, who were prescribed either an
SSRI antidepressant or a placebo. Patients with severe depression did show a statistically
greater response to the antidepressants than placebos, but patients with mild depression
showed the same improvement with antidepressants and placebos. This shows that
antidepressants do work, but lots of their success can be explained by the placebo effect.
Additionally this study questions whether or not mild depression is over diagnosed.
Leichsenring (2001)
Carried out meta-analysis to compare modern psychoanalysis and CBT, and found them to
be equally effective in 58 of 60 cases.
Lewisohn et al (2001)
Measured negative thinking in participants who did not have a history of depression. A year
later, those who scored highest for negative thinking were more likely to have developed
depression in response to negative life events, this supports the idea that faulty cognitions
cause depression.
Rayner et al (2006)
Looked at brain scans of 59 people with unipolar depression and found areas of the
prefrontal cortex were overactive that dealt with unpleasant memories, guilty feelings, and
“brooding”. He also found that they had less activity in areas of the brain to do with
decisiveness and concentration.
Segal et al (2006)
Tested patients who had recovered from depression after receiving either drug therapy of
CBT, patients were made to feel sad – they listened to a piece of dreary classical music at
half speed, and were asked to think about times in their life when they had been unhappy.
Then they filled in a questionnaire to measure negative thoughts, those who and received
