Beck developed a cognitive explanation of depression which has three components: a) cognitive bias; b) negative self-schemas; c) the negative triad. Show
a) Cognitive BiasBeck found that depressed people are more likely to focus on the negative aspects of a situation, while ignoring the positives. They are prone to distorting and misinterpreting information, a process known as cognitive bias. Beck detailed numerous cognitive biases, two of which include: over-generalisations and catastrophising. For example, a depressed person may make over-generalisations, where they make a sweeping conclusion based on a single incident, for example: ‘I’ve failed one end of unit test and therefore I’m going to fail ALL of my AS exams!’ Alternatively, a depressed person may experience catastrophising, where they exaggerate a minor setback and believe that it’s a complete disaster, for example: ‘I’ve failed one end of unit test and therefore I am never going to study at University or get a good job!’ b) Negative self-schemasA schema is a ‘package’ of knowledge, which stores information and ideas about our self and the world around us. These schemas are developed during childhood and according to Beck, depressed people possess negative self-schemas, which may come from negative experiences, for example criticism, from parents, peers or even teachers. A person with a negative self-schema is likely to interpret information about themselves in a negative way, which could lead to cognitive biases, such as those outlined above. c) The negative triadBeck claimed that cognitive biases and negative self-schemas maintain the negative triad, a negative and irrational view of ourselves, our future and the world around us. For sufferers of depression, these thoughts occur automatically and are symptomatic of depressed people. Depression is a mood disorder which prevents individuals from leading a normal life, at work socially or within their family. Seligman (1973) referred to depression as the ‘common cold’ of psychiatry because of its frequency of diagnosis. Depending on how data are gathered and how diagnoses are made, as many as 27% of some population groups may be suffering from depression at any one time (NIMH, 2001; data for older adults).  Behaviorism emphasizes the importance of the environment in shaping behavior. The focus is on observable behavior and the conditions through which individuals' learn behavior, namely classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning theory. Therefore depression is the result of a person's interaction with their environment. For example, classical conditioning proposes depression is learned through associating certain stimuli with negative emotional states. Social learning theory states behavior is learned through observation, imitation and reinforcement. Operant ConditioningOperant conditioning states that depression is caused by the removal of positive reinforcement from the environment (Lewinsohn, 1974). Certain events, such as losing your job, induce depression because they reduce positive reinforcement from others (e.g. being around people who like you). Depressed people usually become much less socially active. In addition depression can also be caused through inadvertent reinforcement of depressed behavior by others. For example, when a loved one is lost, an important source of positive reinforcement has lost as well. This leads to inactivity. The main source of reinforcement is now the sympathy and attention of friends and relatives. However this tends to reinforce maladaptive behavior i.e. weeping, complaining, talking of suicide. This eventually alienates even close friends leading to even less reinforcement, increasing social isolation and unhappiness. In other words depression is a vicious cycle in which the person is driven further and further down. Also if the person lacks social skills or has a very rigid personality structure they may find it difficult to make the adjustments needed to look for new and alternative sources of reinforcement (Lewinsohn, 1974). So they get locked into a negative downward spiral. Critical EvaluationBehavioral/learning theories makes sense in terms of reactive depression, where there is a clearly identifiable cause of depression. However, one of the biggest problems for the theory is that of endogenous depression. This is depression that has no apparent cause (i.e. nothing bad has happened to the person). An additional problem of the behaviorist approach is that it fails to take into account cognitions (thoughts) influence on mood. During the 1960's psychodynamic theories dominated psychology and psychiatry. Depression was understood in terms of:
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is an example of the psychodynamic approach. Freud (1917) prosed that many cases of depression were due to biological factors. However, Freud also argued that some cases of depression could be linked to loss or rejection by a parent. Depression is like grief, in that it often occurs as a reaction to the loss of an important relationship. However, there is an important difference, because depressed people regard themselves as worthless. What happens is that the individual identifies with the lost person, so that repressed anger towards the lost person is directed inwards towards the self. The inner directed anger reduces the individual’s self-esteem, and makes him/her vulnerable to experiencing depression in the future. Freud distinguished between actual losses (e.g. death of a loved one) and symbolic losses (e.g. loss of a job). Both kinds of losses can produce depression by causing the individual to re-experience childhood episodes when they experienced loss of affection from some significant person (e.g. a parent). Later, Freud modified his theory stating that the tendency to internalize loss objects is normal, and that depression is simply due to an excessively severe super-ego. Thus, the depressive phase occurs when the individual’s super-ego or conscience is dominant. In contrast, the manic phase occurs when the individual’s ego or rational mind asserts itself, and s/he feels control. In order to avoid loss turning into depression, the individual needs to engage in a period of mourning work, during which s/he recalls memories of the lost one. This allows the individual to separate him/herself from the lost person, and so reduce the inner-directed anger. However, individuals very dependent on others for their sense of self-esteem may be unable to do this, and so remain extremely depressed. Critical EvaluationPsychoanalytic theories of depression have had a profound impact on contemporary theories of depressions. For example, Beck's (1983) model of depression was influenced by psychoanalytic ideas such as the loss of self-esteem (re: Beck's negative view of self), object loss (re: the importance of loss events), external narcissistic deprivation (re: hypersensitivity to loss of social resources) and oral personality (re: sociotropic personality). However, although being highly influential, psychoanalytic theories are difficult to test scientifically. For example, many of its central features cannot be operationally defined with sufficient precision to allow empirical investigation. Mendelson (1990) concluded his review of psychoanalytic theories of depression by stating:
Another criticism concerns the psychanalytic emphasis on unconscious, intrapsychic processes and early childhood experience as being limiting in that they cause clinicians to overlook additional aspects of depression. For example, conscious negative self-verbalisation (Beck, 1967), or ongoing distressing life events (Brown & Harris, 1978). This approach focuses on people’s beliefs rather than their behavior. Depression results from systematic negative bias in thinking processes. Emotional, behavioral (and possibly physical) symptoms result from cognitive abnormality. This means that depressed patients think differently to clinically normal people. The cognitive approach also assumes changes in thinking precede (i.e. come before) the onset of depressed mood. Beck's (1967) TheoryOne major cognitive theorist is Aaron Beck. He studied people suffering from depression and found that they appraised events in a negative way. Beck (1967) identified three mechanisms that he thought were responsible for depression:
The cognitive triad are three forms of negative (i.e. helpless and critical) thinking that are typical of individuals with depression: namely negative thoughts about the self, the world and the future. These thoughts tended to be automatic in depressed people as they occurred spontaneously. For example, depressed individuals tend to view themselves as helpless, worthless, and inadequate. They interpret events in the world in a unrealistically negative and defeatist way, and they see the world as posing obstacles that can’t be handled. Finally, they see the future as totally hopeless because their worthlessness will prevent their situation improving. How does the social cognitive perspective play a role in depressive moods?Social cognitive performance appears to be inversely associated with severity of depression, whilst the bias toward negative emotions persists even in remission. Some deficits may normalize following effective pharmacotherapy.
What sociological theory explains depression?Social rank theory (SRT) suggests depression stems from feelings of defeat and entrapment that ensue from experiencing oneself to be of lower rank than others.
What are the three main aspects of the cognitive explanation of depression?Beck developed a cognitive explanation of depression which has three components: a) cognitive bias; b) negative self-schemas; c) the negative triad.
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