Cognitive Perspective.pptx

This approach focuses on how internal thoughts and feelings influence one's behavior. The cognitive approach emphasizes the importance of memory, perception and attention, language, decision-making and problem-solving. This approach often compares the human mind to that of a computer.The cognitive perspective, operates on the belief that the brain is the most important aspect in relation to the way that an individual behaves or thinks. This perspective states that to understand someone, you must first be able to understand what is happening in their mind.An example of a way that cognitive researchers study perception is by examining how students study information in preparation for exams.

1. Cognitive Perspective Aqsa shahid

2. Learning Objectives:

3. COGNITION A term used to describe all the mental processes involved in acquiring, storing, and using knowledge. Such processes include: Perception Memory Thinking P roblem solving Attention Language Decision-making

4. General Assumptions:

5. ALBERT ELLIS

6. Concepts: E ach of us hold a unique set of assumptions about ourselves and our world around us. B elieved that humans are naturally goal-directed but they are also self-defeating and irrational. He believed that most people are not aware that many of their thoughts about themselves are irrational and can negatively affect the way they behave in relationships and situations. T hese thoughts can result in people suffering negative emotions and engaging in self-destructive behaviors.   Albert Ellis called these  basic irrational assumptions or irrational beliefs . Gave ABC Model. Method of Treatment: REBT

7. E xample : Some people irrationally assume that they are failures if they are not loved by everyone they know. T hey constantly seek approval and repeatedly feel rejected.  All their interactions are affected by this assumption, hence, leaving them dissatisfied because they don’t get enough compliments.

8. According to Ellis, these are other  common irrational assumptions : • The idea that one should be thoroughly competent at everything. • The idea that is it catastrophic when things are not the way you want them to be. • The idea that people have no control over their happiness. • The idea that you need someone stronger than yourself to be dependent on. • The idea that your past history greatly influences your present life. • The idea that there is a perfect solution to human problems, and it’s a disaster if you don’t find it.

9. The ABC Model: A C B The basic idea behind the ABC model is that “external events (A) do not cause emotions (C), but beliefs (B ) and, in particular, irrational beliefs, do ”.

10. A: Antecedent or activating event (something happens to or around someone) B: Belief (the event causes someone to have a belief, either rational or irrational) C: Consequence (the belief leads to a consequence, with rational beliefs leading to healthy consequences and irrational beliefs leading to unhealthy consequences)

11. Ellis believes that it is not the activating event ( A ) that causes negative emotional and behavioral consequences ( C ), but rather that a person interprets these events unrealistically and therefore has an irrational belief system ( B ) that helps cause the consequences ( C ).

12. Lily is upset because she got a low mark on a math test. Activating event (A) - Lily failed her test. Belief (B) - she must have good grades or she is worthless. (Irrational) Consequence (C) – she feels depressed. (Unhealthy emotion) Lily is upset because she got a low mark on a math test. Activating event (A) - Lily failed her test. Belief (B) - she should have good grades. ( Rational) Consequence (C) – she feels sad but decides to work hard. (Healthy emotion)

13. You pass a by your class fellow in the corridor at school and she ignores you, despite the fact you said ‘hello ’. Activating event (A) – your class fellow ignores you. Belief (B) – she is being arrogant or she dislikes you. (Irrational) Consequence – you start hating her. (Unhealthy emotion) You pass by your class fellow in the corridor at school and she ignores you, despite the fact you said ‘hello’. Activating event (A) – your class fellow ignores you. Belief (B) – she might have not heard or she might be in a hurry ( Rational) Consequence – “Never mind, catch up with u later”. (Healthy emotion) EXAMPLE:

14. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)  A type cognitive therapy first used by Albert Ellis which focuses on resolving emotional and behavioral problems . The goal of the therapy is to change irrational beliefs to more rational ones . REBT encourages a person to identify their irrational beliefs and subsequently persuades the person to challenge these false beliefs by   reframing  it, meaning to re-interpret it in a more realistic light. This helps the client to develop more rational beliefs and healthy coping strategies.

15. AARON BECK

16. Concepts: Believed that a person’s reaction to specific upsetting thoughts may contribute to abnormality . As we confront the many situations that arise in life, both comforting and upsetting thoughts come into our heads. Beck calls these unbidden cognition as automatic thoughts . When a person’s stream of automatic thoughts is very negative you would expect a person to become depressed. e.g. I’m never going to get good grades, I’ll never be able to reduce my weight etc.

17. Beck identified three mechanisms that he thought were responsible for depression: The Cognitive T riad (of negative automatic thinking) Negative S elf S chemas Cognitive Errors / Cognitive Distortion / Errors in Logic (i.e . faulty information processing) Method of treatment: Cognitive Therapy

18. The Cognitive Triad The cognitive triad are three forms of negative thinking that are typical of individuals with depression : Negative views about the world. Negative views about one’s self. Negative views about the future. As these three components interact, they interfere with normal cognitive processing, leading to impairments in perception, memory and problem solving with the person becoming obsessed with negative thoughts.

19. Negative Self-Schemas Beck believed that depression prone individuals develop a negative self-schema.  A set of beliefs and expectations about one’s self that are essentially negative and pessimistic. Beck claimed that negative schemas may be acquired in childhood as a result of a traumatic event. Experiences that might contribute to negative schemas include: - Death of a parent or sibling. - Parental rejection, criticism, overprotection, neglect or abuse. - Bullying at school or exclusion from peer group .

20. Beck identifies a number of illogical thinking processes (i.e. distortions of thought processes) called Cognitive Errors. These illogical thought patterns are self-defeating, and can cause great anxiety or depression for the individual. Cognitive Errors

21. Cognitive Errors: Arbitrary Interference : Drawing conclusions on the basis of insufficient or irrelevant evidence. T hinking that for everyone, you’re worthless. Selective Abstraction : Focusing on a single aspect of a situation and ignoring other aspects. Y ou feel responsible for your team losing a football match even though you are just one of the players on the field . Magnification : Exaggerating the importance of undesirable events. Y ou scrape a bit of paint work on your car and, therefore, see yourself as a totally awful driver . Minimization : Underplaying the significance of an event. Y ou get praised by your teachers for an excellent term’s work, but you see this as trivial.

22. Overgeneralization : Drawing broad general conclusions on the basis of a single insignificant event. Y ou get a D in an exam when you normally get straight As and you, therefore , think you’re going to fail every subject. Personalization : Attributing the negative feelings of others to yourself. Y our teacher looks really cross when he comes into the room and you think he must be cross with you . Dichotomous thinking: Thinking in "black and white" terms rather than "shades of gray .“ The tendency to place all experiences in one of two opposite categories, f or example , flawless or defective, immaculate or filthy, saint or sinner, 100% or 0%. (also called Absolutistic T hinking) You get 90% marks, but you were after 100%, hence you tell everyone you’ve failed.

23. Cognitive Therapy Beck’s system of therapy is similar to Ellis’s, but has been most widely used in cases of depression.  The goal of the therapy is to help clients recognize the negative thoughts and errors in logic that cause them to be depressed.  The therapist guides clients to question and challenge their dysfunctional thoughts, try out new interpretations, and ultimately apply alternative ways of thinking in their daily lives .

24. Evaluation

25. Cognitive perspective in psychology help us understand how people think, including how they acquire and store memories. By knowing more about how these processes work, psychologists can develop new ways of helping people with cognitive problems . Discussed models have great appeal because it focuses on human thought. Human cognitive abilities have been responsible for our many accomplishments so may also be responsible for our problems . One of the key strengths of Beck’s cognitive theory is its ability to explain the etiology of depression in terms of negative cognitions and thinking patterns. REBT has been effective in reframing beliefs – irrational into rational Cognitive therapy has been very effective for treating depression.

26. It focuses on individual thoughts and beliefs as the cause of psychological disorders. This emphasis may lead to a lack of attention to other important factors, such as biology, environment, and social interactions.   I t only focuses on the individual’s thoughts and not on other external factors that can contribute to depression. For example, research has shown that people who experience stressful life events are more likely to become depressed, regardless of their thinking patterns. So while thoughts are important, they are not the only thing that matters . It is not clear whether faulty cognitions are a cause of the negative thoughts or a consequence of it . The cognitive model is narrow in scope - thinking is just one part of human functioning, broader issues need to be addressed .

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