Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cognitive Theories of Depression

  • Chapter
Theoretical Foundations of Behavior Therapy

Part of the book series: Perspectives on Individual Differences ((PIDF))

Abstract

What would constitute an adequate cognitive theory of depression? In order to assess extant theories and to speculate about the directions that future theories might take, this question can be broken down into at least three parts: first, the theory should draw on and stand up satisfactorily to current knowledge in cognitive science; second, it necessitates an account of depression that is clinically, empirically, and phenom-enologically sound; and, third, the theory should have useful therapeutic implications. These questions in turn can be further broken down. To consider cognitive adequacy first, the theory should provide an account of at least the following: (a) the type of knowledge representation or belief system; (b) the relationship between cognition and emotion; (c) the occurrence of vulnerability and resilience; and (d) the types of cognitive processes implicated, for example, controlled versus automatic (or conscious versus unconscious) processes. Given that these preliminary cognitive modeling requirements are met, the theory then needs to account for characteristic aspects of depression such as the following: (a) the meaning of depression and its relationship to normal sadness; (b) the natural history of depression, for example, its typically time-limited course; (c) the high prevalence of depression; (d) the interpersonal and contextual aspects of depression, for example, in relation to the importance of loss and failure; and (e) specific clinical and empirical findings, for example, low self-esteem, irrational beliefs, and so on.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Abramson, L. Y., Garber, J., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1980). Learned helplessness in humans: An attri-butional analysis. In J. Garber, & M. E. P. Seligman (Eds.), Human helplessness: Theory and applications. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., & Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Akiskal, H. S., Bitar, A. H., Puzantian, V. R., Rosenthal, T. L., & Walker, P. W. (1978). The nosological status of neurotic depression: A prospective three-to- four-year follow-up examination in light of the primary-secondary and unipolar-bipolar dichotomies. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 756–766.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alloy, L. B., & Abramson, L. Y. (1979). Judgements of contingency in depressed and nondepressed students: Sadder but wiser? Journal of Experimental Psychology (General), 108, 441–485.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alloy, L. B., & Tabachnik, N. (1984). Assessment of covariation by humans and animals: The joint influence of prior expectations and current situational information. Psychological Review, 91, 112–149.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arieti, S., & Bemporad, J. (1978). Severe and mild depression: The psychotherapeutic approach. London: Tavistock.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. In G. Bower (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 3, pp. 47–89). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett, F. C. (1932). Remembering: A study of experimental and social psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. New York: Meridian.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T. (1983). Cognitive therapy of depression: New perspectives. In P.J. Clayton, & J. E. Barrett (Eds.), Treatment of depression: Old controversies and new approaches (pp. 265–290). New York: Raven Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression: A treatment manual. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Billings, A. G., & Moos, R. H. (1984). Chronic and nonchronic unipolar depression: The differential role of environmental stressors. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 172, 65–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blatt, S. J., D’Afflitti, J. P., & Quinlan, D. M. (1976). Experiences of depression in normal young adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 85, 383–389.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bower, G. H. (1981). Mood and memory. American Psychologist, 36, 129–148.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bower, G. H., & Cohen, P. R. (1982). Emotional influences in memory and thinking: Data and theory. In M. S. Clark, & S. Tj. Fiske (Eds.), Affect and cognition: The seventeenth annual Carnegie symposium on cognition (pp. 291–331). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowers, K. S., & Meichenbaum, D. (Eds.). (1984). The unconscious reconsidered. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and Loss, Vol. 3. Loss: Sadness and Depression. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brewin, C. R. (1985). Depression and Causal attributions: What is their relation? Psychological Bulletin, 98, 297–309.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. (1978). Social origins of depression. London: Tavistock.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruch, H. (1978). The golden cage: The enigma of anorexia nervosa. Shepton Mallet: Open Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caine, T. M., Wijesinghe, D. B. A., & Winter, D. A. (1981). Personal styles in neurosis: Implications for small group psychotherapy and behaviour therapy. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Champion, L. A. (1985). A psychosocial approach to the mental health of women: Depression, social support and self help on a new housing estate. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Birmingham.

    Google Scholar 

  • Champion, L. A., & Power, M.J. (1987). Cognitive approaches to depression: Towards a new synthesis. Manuscript submitted for publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochrane, R., & Sobol, M. (1980). Life stresses and psychological consequences. In M. P. Feldman, & J. Orford (Eds.), The social psychology of psychological problems (pp. 151–182). Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coyne, J. C., & Gotlib, I. H. (1983). The role of cognition in depression: A critical appraisal. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 472–505.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon, N. F. (1981). Preconscious processing. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freden, L. (1982). Psychological aspects of depression: No way out? Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilligan, S. G., & Bower, G. H. (1984). Cognitive consequences of emotional arousal. In C. E. Izard, J. Kagan, & R. B. Zajonc (Eds.), Emotions, cognition and behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golin, S., Terrell, F., & Johnson, B. (1977). Depression and the illusion of control. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86, 440–442.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, E. W., & Abramson, L. Y. (1983). Cognitive patterns and major depressive disorder: A longitudinal study in a hospital setting. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 92, 173–184.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hammen, C., Marks, T., Mayol, A., & DeMayo, R. (1985). Depressive self-schemas, life stress, and vulnerability to depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 94, 308–319.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, A. S., Byrne, D. G., & Duncan-Jones, P. (1981). Neurosis and the social environment. Sydney: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hitch, G.J. (1980). Developing the concept of working memory. In G. Claxton (Ed.), Cognitive psychology: New directions. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, R. E. (1984). Toward an information-processing analysis of depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 8, 443–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, R. E., & Smith, T. W. (1984). Depression and internal versus external focus of attention. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 8, 139–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. H., & Sarason, I. G. (1979). Moderator variables in life stress research. In I. G. Sarason, & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Stress and anxiety (Vol. 6, pp. 151–167). Washington: Hemisphere.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1983). Mental models: Towards a cognitive science of language, inference and consciousness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, W. L. (1983). Ministering to minds diseases: A history of psychiatric treatment. London: Heineman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krantz, S. E. (1985). When depressive cognitions reflect negative realities. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 9, 595–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Layne, C. (1983). Painful truths about depressives’ cognitions. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 39, 848–853.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewinsohn, P. M., Hoberman, H., Teri, L., & Hautzinger, M. (1985). An integrative theory of depression. In S. Reiss & R. R. Bootzin (Eds.), Theoretical issues in behavior therapy. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewinsohn, P. M., Larson, D. W., & Munoz, R. F. (1982). The measurement of expectancies and othercognitions in depressed individuals. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 6, 437–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewinsohn, P. M., Mischel, W., Chaplin, W., & Barton, R. (1980). Social competence and depression: The role of ilusory self-perceptions. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 89, 203–212.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, C. (1980). Life events and depressive disorder reviewed: II Events as precipitating factors. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 541–548.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons, W. (1980). Emotion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mandler, G. (1984). Mind and body: Psychology of emotion and stress. New York: W. W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mechani, C. D. (1978). Medical sociology (2nd ed.). New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mechani, C. D. (1986). The concept of illness behaviour: Culture, situation and personal predisposition. Psychological Medicine, 16, 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, G. A., Galanter, E., & Pribram, K. (1960). Plans and the structure of behaviour. New York: Holt, Reinhart & Winston.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Neely, J. H. (1977). Semantic priming and retrieval from lexical memory: The roles of inhibitionless spreading activation and limited capacity attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology (General), 106, 226–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, R. E., & Craighead, W. E. (1977). Selective recall of positive and negative feedback, self-control behaviours, and depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86, 379–388.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84, 231–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oakhill, J. V., & Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1985). The effects of belief on the spontaneous production of syllogistic conclusions. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 37A, 553–569.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oatley, K., & Bolton, W. (1985). A social-cognitive theory of depression in reaction to life events. Psychological Review, 92, 373–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oatley, K., & Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1985, August). Sketch for a cognitive theory of the emotions. Paper presented at summer institute on cognitive-emotion interrelations, Colorado.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paykel, E. S. (1979). Recent life events in the development of the depressive disorders. In R. A. Depue (Ed.), The psycho bio logy of the depressive disorders: Implications for the effects of stress (pp. 245–262). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. (1982). Learned helplessness and attributional interventions in depression. In C. Antaki, & C. Brewin (Eds.), Attributions and psychological change: Applications of attributional theories to clinical and educational practice (pp. 97–115). London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1984). Causal explanations as a risk factor for depression: Theory and evidence. Psychological Review, 91, 347–374.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C., Semmel, A., von Baeyer, C., Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1982). The attributional style questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 6, 287–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Posner, M. I., & Snyder, C. R. R. (1975). Attention and cognitive control. In R. Solso (Ed.), Information processing and cognition: The Loyola symposium. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Power, M.J. (1985). Sentence production and working memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 37A, 367–385.

    Google Scholar 

  • Power, M. J. (1986). A technique for measuring processing load during speech production. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 15, 371–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Power, M.J. (1987). The perception of life-events in depressed inpatients and hospitalized controls. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 43, 206–211.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Power, M. J., & Champion, L. A. (1986). Cognitive approaches to depression: A theoretical critique. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 25, 201 – 212.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roth, D. L., & Ingram, R. E. (1985). Factors in the self-deception questionnaire: Associations with depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 243–251.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rumelhart, D. E., & Norman, D. A. (1985). Representation of knowledge. In A. M. Aitkenhead, & J. M. Slack (Eds.), Issues in cognitive modeling (pp. 15–62). London: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sacco, W. P., & Beck, A. T. (1985). Cognitive therapy of depression. In E. E. Beckham, & W. R. Leber (Eds.), Handbook of depression: Treatment, assessment and research. Homewood, IL: The Dorsey Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, W., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: 1. Detection, search and attention. Psychological Review, 84, 1–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, N., & Clore, G. L. (1983). Mood, misattribution, and judgements of well-being: Informative and directive functions of affective states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 513–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (1975). Helplessness: On depression, development and death. San Francisco: Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (1981). A learned helplessness point of view. In L. P. Rehm (Ed.), Behaviour therapy for depression: Present status and future directions. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P., Abramson, L. Y., Semmel, A. M., & von Baeyer, C. (1979). Depressive attributional style. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 88, 242–243.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shiffrin, R. M., & Schneider, W. (1984). Automatic and controlled processing revisited. Psychological Review, 91, 269–276.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. W., & Greenberg, J. (1981). Depression and self-focused attention. Motivation and Emotion, 5, 323–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teasdale, J. D. (1983). Negative thinking in depression: Cause, effect, or reciprocal relationship? Advances in Behaviour Research and Therapy, 5, 3–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92, 548–573.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, I. M., & Blackburn, I. M. (1981). Cognitive style in depressed and recovered depressed patients. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 20, 283–292.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Social Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, England

    M. J. Power

Authors
  1. M. J. Power
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Psychiatry, London, England

    Hans J. Eysenck  & Irene Martin  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1987 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Power, M.J. (1987). Cognitive Theories of Depression. In: Eysenck, H.J., Martin, I. (eds) Theoretical Foundations of Behavior Therapy. Perspectives on Individual Differences. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0827-8_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0827-8_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0829-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0827-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation