The cognitive model

The cognitive model

1. The cognitive model is a psychological model perceiving mental disorders as due to negative thoughts and illogical beliefs.

2. The cognitive model was created by Aaron Ellis and Albert Beck as a challenge to the behavioural model.

3. The cognitive model perceives mental disorders as being due to distorted and irrational thought processes, which are referred to as cognitive errors.

4. The cognitive triad is the three types of illogical thought processes which result in irrational, negative feelings about oneself and lead to depression.

5. The cognitive triad:

   • 1. Negative feelings about themselves ('nobody loves me').
   • 2. Negative feelings about the future ('I will always be useless').
   • 3. Negative feelings about the world.

6. Armfield asked participants to visualise a spider. The participants were then assigned to different conditions of how dangerous/predictable the spider was and how much control they had of the situation.

   • Those who believed the spider was dangerous and unpredictable, and believed they could not get away scored highest on fear of spiders.
     • This suggests that it is our beliefs that determine how cognitively vulnerable we are to anxiety, thus supporting the cognitive model.

7. Evaluation.

   • Research supports that many people suffering from anxiety and depression do not have irrational thought processes.
   • It is victim-blaming, it says that a person's mental disorder is their own fault for having the wrong thoughts.
   • It empowers individuals by perceiving them as having the ability to change their own cognitions.

8. Therapies.

   • Rational emotive behaviour therapy.
     • Also known as the ABC technique.
       • A - Activating event.
         • Patients record events leading to disordered thinking e.g. exam failure.
       • B - Beliefs.
         • Patients record negative thoughts associated with the event e.g. "I'm stupid and useless".
       • C - Consequence.
         • Patients record negative thoughts or behaviours that follow e.g. feeling upset or thinking about leaving college.