The Cognitive Model

The cognitive model assumes that cognition, behavior, and biochemistry are important components of depressive disorders. According to essay #12, many cognitions central to depressive processes are our perceptions, attributions, beliefs, values, and expectations. Our attributions refer to events that have already occurred; expectations refer to our opinions about events in the near and distance future. Attributions may or may not contribute to the formulation of expectations, but is it the expected that produces the affect and behavior that follows.

In accordance with essay #12, Hollon and Garber refer to perceptions to include identifying, discriminating, recognizing, and judging events. One often recognizes contingencies between classes of events, and is affected by paired stimulation that are correlated. According to lecture, an example of correlations in peoples mind is “If I am not perfect, I am worthless.” Beck states that when “arbitrary inferences” are made, people draw conclusions that are contrary to the objective evidence in a situation. “Selective abstraction” is when one draws the inference based on only one part of the information involved in a situation. “Magnification” is the tendency to exaggerate the importance of the event. Overstressing imperfections eventually engulfs the whole self in a depressive state. “Minimization” is the tendency to underestimate the importance of positive events. According to lecture, people who engage in this are not able to “disidentify” with inconsistent information. According to lecture, Claude Steele describes the “self-affirmation theory” and how people feel when faced with negative feedback about oneself in a particular domain. A non-depressive person would try to bolster other aspects of herself in order to protect self-esteem. Bill Swann expresses people’s need for consistency by explaining the ‘self-verification theory.” This states that people look for consistent information from others because it makes them feel good. They also express themselves consistently, and want others to look at them consistently across situations. We seek friends who support the image of ourselves. Depressed people also tend to “overgeneralize.” For example, if one is home on a Saturday night, he convinces himself that he will be alone his whole life. Some people tend to “disqualify the positive,” This is when they act as if a positive experience that should give them a reason