Sadness, hopelessness, and feeling miserable seem to be the most known symptoms of depression. Though there are people that are still unaware that those living with depression also experience a multitude of other symptoms (like motivational deficits, physical inactivity, insomnia or hypersomnia, feelings of worthlessness, appetite loss, and negative views about themselves and the world), the world is slowing becoming more educated about this mental disorder. However, those curious to know the “why’s” may remain confused as depression’s explanations are complex. Over time, depression has been heavily debated and discussed: is depression a trait or is depression developed over time, and if so how? In the 1950s, according to Applied Psychology, there was an …show more content…
Beck’s cognitive theory led him to believe that those with depression develop a negative schema, leading to a negative perspective about themselves and the world (Davey, 100). Negative schemas affect encoding, selection, and evaluation of stimuli and events in the world. This development is a result of early problematic experiences and later in life is triggered by stressful events. Also a part of Beck’s theory is the negative triad, where the individual has negative views of themselves, their future, and the world (p. 101). Beck’s theories about cognitive processes and depression help prove that those with depression jump to conclusions, miss significances, have unjustified generalizations, and more. Because of their pessimistic thinking, caused by negative schemas, those with depression have shown to have more accuracy in evaluating how much control they have over a situation and their impression on others than those without depression (p. 102). Surprisingly, those without depression are more confident in their estimates, which show they may “possess a positive bias that may act to ‘make them feel good about