Cognitive model of depression
IB Psychology· Health and well-being· 14 min read
1. 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?
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Scope
5. Common Pitfalls
Wrong move:
Listing studies of negative thinking (or describing the topic) without explaining the cognitive MODEL, and assuming negative thoughts must cause the depression.
Why:
A frequently penalised misconception in IB Psychology exams.
Correct move:
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.
Going deeper
- Schema theorythe negative-schema mechanism is schema theory (COG_8).
- Psychological treatment (depression)CBT is the psychological treatment built on this model (HWB_10).
- Biological explanation of depressionthe biological explanation is the contrasting level of analysis (HWB_1).