# Cognitive model of depression

> IB Psychology · IB Psychology 2027 First Assessment
> Source: https://www.owlsprep.com/study/ib-psychology-hwb-cognitive-model-of-depression/

The value of one or more cognitive models in understanding a mental health disorder.

## Learning objectives

- The value of one or more cognitive models in understanding a mental health disorder.

## How often is this tested?

Based on OwlsPrep's analysis of official CIE IB_PSYCH P2 past papers (2019–2025): **Cognitive model of depression** appears **4 times** in the last 7 years — **1.4%** of all P2 questions (4 of 288).

Most-tested forms: Essay: To what extent (22 marks) (2), Essay: Discuss (22 marks) (1), Essay: Contrast (22 marks) (1).

*Small sample — indicative only.*

## Core concept

A cognitive model explains depression through how a person thinks. Beck's model proposes that depressed people hold negative schemas and a 'negative triad' — pessimistic views of the self, the world and the future — that bias attention and memory toward failure and keep low mood going. On this view the disorder is maintained by distorted thinking rather than only by brain chemistry, which is why the therapy that follows (CBT) targets those thoughts. A key open question is direction: does negative thinking cause depression, or does depression produce the negative thinking?

## Key studies

IB Psychology answers must be supported by named studies. Learn these to cite as evidence:

**Alloy, Abramson, and Francis (1999)** — A longitudinal study found that a negative cognitive style increased later vulnerability to depression when people met negative life events — a 'cognitive predisposition'. — *Prospective evidence that negative thinking precedes and predicts depression, supporting a causal cognitive-vulnerability model rather than mere correlation.*

**Oei and Kwon (2007)** — Comparing several models of depression in Korean migrants, Beck's cognitive model best explained and predicted depression and anxiety after negative life events. — *Directly supports the value of the cognitive (Beck) model, and tests it beyond a Western sample.*

## Evaluation (AO3)

**Strength — testable and therapeutically productive** — The model is testable and directly generates an effective, targeted therapy (CBT); prospective data (Alloy) support cognitive style as a genuine risk factor.

**Limitation — causal direction and measurement** — Negative cognition also co-occurs with, and may result from, low mood, so causal direction is hard to pin down; 'schema' and 'cognitive style' are inferred, not directly observed.

## Scope

> **note**
>
> This card is the cognitive explanation of one disorder (depression) and 'the value of' that model. The therapy it generates is HWB_10; schema theory in general cognition is COG_8; biological and environmental explanations are HWB_1 and HWB_4.

## Common pitfalls

- **Wrong:** Listing studies of negative thinking (or describing the topic) without explaining the cognitive MODEL, and assuming negative thoughts must cause the depression.
  - Why it fails: A frequently penalised misconception in IB Psychology exams.
  - Correct: Explain the model's mechanism (negative schemas/triad biasing processing) and acknowledge the causality debate — cognition may cause, maintain, or partly result from depression. Contrast explanations, not just studies.

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