16 mark essay on the Cognitive approach to depression
The cognitive approach explains depression as irrational negative thinking which shapes our
behaviour. Ellis believed that good mental health is the result of rational thinking, and depression is
a result of irrational thinking. His ABC model explains how disorders develop from an activation
event (A), for example being dumped by a girlfriend. This leads to ‘B’ – beliefs or irrational thoughts
such as not being good enough or feeling ugly, and this then leads to ‘C’ – consequences of these
negative thoughts, such as not washing or eating, which leads to depression. Ellis also introduced the
idea of musterbatory thinking, the belief that certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order for
an individual to be happy. For example, “I must do well or I am worthless”.
Beck also developed a cognitive explanation for depression, this had three components – cognitive
bias, negative self-schemas and the negative triad. Beck’s cognitive triad consisted of three types of
negative thinking – a negative view of the self, of the world and of the future, which forms a cycle.
For example, a person may think “I’m worthless and inadequate” , this leads to a negative view of
the future, “ I’ll never be any good” and then to a negative view of the world “everyone is against me
because I’m worthless”. This cycles round and round and leads to depression.
A strength of the cognitive explanation of depression is that there is evidence to support the role of
irrational thinking. For example, Bates found that depressed participants who were given negative
automatic thoughts statements become more and more depressed. This supports theories such as
the cognitive triad, and that negative thinking is harmful to mental health. However sometimes
irrational beliefs may be realistic. Alloy and Abramson found that depressed people gave more
accurate estimates of the likelihood of disaster than normal controls, and called this the ‘sadder but
wiser effect’.
Another criticism of the cognitive approach is that it can be considered reductionist as it does not
consider alternative explanations. For example, there is evidence to suggest that biological factors
such as genes and neurotransmitters may cause depression. This goes against theories such as Ellis’s
ABC model which suggested there needed to be an activating event for depression to occur.
However the cognitive explanations have been used successfully to treat and support people. CBT
challenges irrational beliefs, and has become a standard treatment for depression.
The cognitive approach explains depression as irrational negative thinking which shapes our
behaviour. Ellis believed that good mental health is the result of rational thinking, and depression is
a result of irrational thinking. His ABC model explains how disorders develop from an activation
event (A), for example being dumped by a girlfriend. This leads to ‘B’ – beliefs or irrational thoughts
such as not being good enough or feeling ugly, and this then leads to ‘C’ – consequences of these
negative thoughts, such as not washing or eating, which leads to depression. Ellis also introduced the
idea of musterbatory thinking, the belief that certain ideas or assumptions must be true in order for
an individual to be happy. For example, “I must do well or I am worthless”.
Beck also developed a cognitive explanation for depression, this had three components – cognitive
bias, negative self-schemas and the negative triad. Beck’s cognitive triad consisted of three types of
negative thinking – a negative view of the self, of the world and of the future, which forms a cycle.
For example, a person may think “I’m worthless and inadequate” , this leads to a negative view of
the future, “ I’ll never be any good” and then to a negative view of the world “everyone is against me
because I’m worthless”. This cycles round and round and leads to depression.
A strength of the cognitive explanation of depression is that there is evidence to support the role of
irrational thinking. For example, Bates found that depressed participants who were given negative
automatic thoughts statements become more and more depressed. This supports theories such as
the cognitive triad, and that negative thinking is harmful to mental health. However sometimes
irrational beliefs may be realistic. Alloy and Abramson found that depressed people gave more
accurate estimates of the likelihood of disaster than normal controls, and called this the ‘sadder but
wiser effect’.
Another criticism of the cognitive approach is that it can be considered reductionist as it does not
consider alternative explanations. For example, there is evidence to suggest that biological factors
such as genes and neurotransmitters may cause depression. This goes against theories such as Ellis’s
ABC model which suggested there needed to be an activating event for depression to occur.
However the cognitive explanations have been used successfully to treat and support people. CBT
challenges irrational beliefs, and has become a standard treatment for depression.
