AS AQA PSYA2 Psychology- Cognitive approach to Psychopathology

Ellis and Beck thought the behavioural approach was weak because it did not take mental procceses into account. The cognitive approach is the idea that thinking processes which occur between a stimulus and a response are responsible for the feeling that forms part of the response. E.g. If a person has a pattern of negative thoughts about themselves, they are likely to feel low as a response. One of the features of the cognitive approach is:

• Irrational Thinking (Ellis 1962)- Emotional problems can cause distortions in our thinking processes, e.g. believing you are worthless if you aren't loved by everyone. Everyone has these feelings, however it only becomes a problem when this sort of thinking becomes habit and effects them and others around them
• The Cognitive Triad and Errors in…