Cognitive
Sociocultural
Psychodynamic
Psychological Explanations of
Depression
Aim:
Can I outline TWO psychological explanations for
depression?
Can I evaluate TWO psychological explanations for
depression?
• Although biological explanations for depression have
attracted the most research support in recent years,
psychological explanations have also been influential.
• Possibly, some factors cause the development of
depression whereas others maintain it.
• Possibly, two or more factors are needed for the
development of depression.
• For example, someone may have low levels of
serotonin, feel helpless and blame themselves for the
negative events that happen to them. (Comer, 2003)
Freud’s psychodynamic explanation
• Mourning = natural grieving period after loss
• Melancholia = a pathological illness (depression)
when grief does not end
• Depression = anger turned against oneself
• unconsciously harbouring negative feelings
towards loved ones
• resent being deserted by them
• normal to grieve, recall memories
• abnormal to continue pattern of self abuse and
self blame
Cognitive – Beck’s theory of
depression
• Beck’s theory of depression (1975) = negative
schema: a tendency to adopt a negative view of
the world during childhood due to e.g. rejection
or criticisms by teachers, peers or parents
• Activated whenever they encounter a new
situation that resembles the original
• Based on cognitive biases in thinking such as
over-generalisation (sweeping conclusions of self
worth based on small piece of negative feedback)
• Negative triad = pessimistic view of self, the
world and the future
Cognitive – learned helplessness
(Siligman, 1975)
• D learned when person tries and fails to control unpleasant
experiences
• = sense of loss on control = depression
• Results in failure to initiate coping strategies in the face of
stress and circumstances that CAN be controlled
• D think about unpleasant events in a more pessimistic way
= hold themselves responsible
• ‘reformulated helplessness theory’ (Abrahamson et al,
1978) = cause of unpleasant events are:
1. internal
depressive attributional style
2. stable
3. global
Cognitive - hopelessness (Abrahamson
et al, 1989)
• Depression based on pessimistic expectations
of the future
• Expects bad rather than good things to
happen to them in the important areas in
their lives and
• believe they don’t have resources to change
the situation
Evaluation
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Successful therapies: meta-analysis of Beck’s cognitive therapy concluded 80% benefited
More effective than drug therapy
Lower relapse rate
Predictions of Beck’s theory are supported = depressed participants in studies who were
given negative automatic thought statements became more depressed BUT does this prove
cause and effect??
Seligman’s research on animals supported by human studies: college students exposed to
uncontrollable aversive events were more likely to fail on cognitive tasks + other studies
found that depressed college students performed worse of all on similar task
Hopelessness model supported by research: participants assessed weekly with higher
negative attributional style showed more symptoms of depression when stressed
Negative attributional style might be more common in women because they are taught to
think more negatively about themselves and this may help explain why more women suffer
from depression
Women 20% more likely to suffer from depression – younger and longer and more related to
stressful life events
Men might simply develop different disorders in response to stress: antisocial behaviour and
alcohol abuse
Gender differences also in response to stress: women – focus on negative emotions + seek
professional help. Men – use distractions like alcohol
Major Life Event Study
• Brown and Harris (1978)
• Episodes of depression almost always preceded by a major life
event
• Study of depressed women in Camberwell, London
• 2 circumstances influence a person’s vulnerability to severe life
events:
* long term difficulties (marital problems)
* vulnerability factors (3+ children under 14,
not working outside home or lack of close
relationship)
- sample only women and British
- women rely more on social support and thus more affected by loss
- Stress
Depression
Depression
Stress