Aaron T. Beck’s Cognitive Theory of depression believes that cognitive symptoms of depression actually precede the affective and mood symptoms of depression, rather than vice versa. (Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley, 2007) According to Beck, central to depression are the negative thoughts and faulty or maladaptive cognitive processes, instead of hormonal changes or low rates of reinforcement as postulated by other theorists. (Allen, 2003) There are three main aspects that I believe are fundamental in explaining Becks theory of depression, namely, the cognitive triad, negative self-schemas as well as information distortion, misinterpretation and illogical thinking.
Beck’s Cognitive Triad
Beck's cognitive theory is based on cognitive perceptions and …show more content…
E.g. ‘black or white’, ‘good or bad’
Arbitrary inferences – The process of drawing a conclusion without sufficient evidence, or without any evidence at all. E.g. thinking you are worthless because the Springboks lost because you weren’t wearing your Springbok rugby top.
Personalising – Taking responsibility or blame for all the unpleasant incidents or negative feelings of others. E.g. when your mother looks upset, you automatically assume it is your fault and you did something to upset her.
Selective abstraction – An unconscious inclination to focus on a single negative aspect of a situation rather than any positive aspects in the situation. E.g. ‘my football team lost the match because I missed that one tackle.’
Overgeneralization – Drawing broad, illogical conclusions based on a single event. E.g. you think you will fail the exam because you didn’t know the answer to one of the questions.
Catastrophising – viewing and exaggerating the situation by irrationally believe that something is far worse than it actually is. E.g. if your mom gets angry because you accidentally dropped the remote but it didn’t break and is still …show more content…
Whereas, Beck hypothesized that those cognitive symptoms of depression are the cause of the mood symptoms. (Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley, 2007) Therefore suggesting that one symptom has a knock on effect on the other where the first is responsible for the second, and so on.
Butler and Beck (2000) reviewed 14 meta-analyses investigating the effectiveness of Beck’s cognitive therapy and concluded that about 80% of adults benefited from the therapy. It was also found that the therapy was more successful than drug therapy and had a lower relapse rate; supporting the proposition that depression has a cognitive basis. This suggests that knowledge of the cognitive explanation can improve the quality of people’s lives. (McLeod, 2015)
Beck’s Cognitive Therapy has also been criticised for focusing too much on the power of positive thinking; being too superficial and simplistic; denying the importance of the clients past; being too technique orientated; failing to use therapeutic relationship; working only on eliminating symptoms, but failing to explore the underlying causes of difficulties; ignoring the role of unconscious factors and neglecting the role of feelings. (Corey,
Beck’s Cognitive Triad
Beck's cognitive theory is based on cognitive perceptions and …show more content…
E.g. ‘black or white’, ‘good or bad’
Arbitrary inferences – The process of drawing a conclusion without sufficient evidence, or without any evidence at all. E.g. thinking you are worthless because the Springboks lost because you weren’t wearing your Springbok rugby top.
Personalising – Taking responsibility or blame for all the unpleasant incidents or negative feelings of others. E.g. when your mother looks upset, you automatically assume it is your fault and you did something to upset her.
Selective abstraction – An unconscious inclination to focus on a single negative aspect of a situation rather than any positive aspects in the situation. E.g. ‘my football team lost the match because I missed that one tackle.’
Overgeneralization – Drawing broad, illogical conclusions based on a single event. E.g. you think you will fail the exam because you didn’t know the answer to one of the questions.
Catastrophising – viewing and exaggerating the situation by irrationally believe that something is far worse than it actually is. E.g. if your mom gets angry because you accidentally dropped the remote but it didn’t break and is still …show more content…
Whereas, Beck hypothesized that those cognitive symptoms of depression are the cause of the mood symptoms. (Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley, 2007) Therefore suggesting that one symptom has a knock on effect on the other where the first is responsible for the second, and so on.
Butler and Beck (2000) reviewed 14 meta-analyses investigating the effectiveness of Beck’s cognitive therapy and concluded that about 80% of adults benefited from the therapy. It was also found that the therapy was more successful than drug therapy and had a lower relapse rate; supporting the proposition that depression has a cognitive basis. This suggests that knowledge of the cognitive explanation can improve the quality of people’s lives. (McLeod, 2015)
Beck’s Cognitive Therapy has also been criticised for focusing too much on the power of positive thinking; being too superficial and simplistic; denying the importance of the clients past; being too technique orientated; failing to use therapeutic relationship; working only on eliminating symptoms, but failing to explore the underlying causes of difficulties; ignoring the role of unconscious factors and neglecting the role of feelings. (Corey,