Discuss Ellis’s cognitive explanation of depression.
Updated: 7 days ago
Question 10 Mark Scheme
Discuss Ellis’s cognitive explanation of depression. In your answer, compare Ellis’s explanation with Beck’s explanation.
[16 marks]
What is expected in the answer?
The command word “discuss” requires students to explain Ellis’s cognitive explanation accurately and then evaluate how successfully it accounts for depression. The instruction to compare Ellis with Beck means students should make explicit similarities and differences between the two cognitive explanations, rather than simply describing them separately.
The current specification requires both Ellis’s ABC model and Beck’s negative triad as cognitive explanations of depression.
Marks for this question: AO1 = 6, AO3 = 10
This allocation is directly supported by the June 2024 16-mark question, “Discuss the cognitive approach to explaining depression”, which used AO1 = 6 and AO3 = 10 and included both Beck and Ellis.
Level | Marks | Description |
4 | 13–16 | Knowledge of Ellis’s cognitive explanation is accurate and generally well detailed. Comparison with Beck is clear and effective. Discussion is thorough and effective, using relevant evidence, applications, limitations and/or alternative explanations. The answer is clear, coherent and focused, with effective use of specialist terminology. |
3 | 9–12 | Knowledge of Ellis’s explanation is evident but there may be occasional inaccuracies or omissions. Comparison with Beck is present and discussion is mostly effective. The answer is generally clear and organised but may lack development in places. |
2 | 5–8 | Limited knowledge of Ellis’s explanation is present. The response is mainly descriptive. Comparison with Beck may consist mainly of separate descriptions and discussion is of limited effectiveness. |
1 | 1–4 | Knowledge is very limited or muddled. Ellis and Beck may be confused. Discussion and comparison are limited, poorly focused or absent. Specialist terminology is absent or used inaccurately. |
0 | 0 | No relevant content. |
Indicative content
AO1: Ellis’s ABC model
Ellis proposed that depression can result from irrational thinking about events.
The ABC model consists of:
A, activating event
B, beliefs
C, consequences
The June 2025 mark scheme describes Ellis’s explanation as focusing particularly on irrational thoughts triggered by external events, making it particularly relevant to reactive depression.
A: Activating event
An activating event is something that happens to the person.
Examples could include:
failing an examination
rejection by a romantic partner
criticism at work
losing a job.
The important point is that Ellis did not argue that the activating event directly causes depression.
Two people could experience the same negative event and respond very differently.
The psychological outcome depends upon B, the beliefs through which the person interprets the event.
B: Irrational beliefs
According to Ellis, depression is associated with irrational and negative beliefs.
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