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Cognition in depression: A reappraisal of Coyne and Gotlib's critique

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Abstract

Coyne and Gotlib's (1983) critique of the role of cognition in depression is examined and evaluated. Cogent methodological criticisms notwithstanding, their analysis does not acknowledge the complexity of a number of issues relating to questions of cognitive causality and the assessment of episode versus vulnerability markers within a cognitive framework. Empirical studies of Beck's cognitive model and learned helplessness theory are presented as weak and equivocal in their review, yet if studies on clinical populations alone are examined, the cognitive model is supported by research on the recall of information and longitudinal studies of vulnerability markers. Concerns regarding conceptual and methodological difficulties still facing the field are noted and future directions for cognitive research in depression are suggested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clarke Institute of Psychiatry and University of Toronto, 250 College Street, M5T 1R8, Toronto, Canada

    Zindel V. Segal & Brian F. Shaw

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  1. Zindel V. Segal
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  2. Brian F. Shaw
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The authors would like to thank Jane Hood for her comments on an earlier draft of this paper, and Sheila McCormick for her assistance in the preparation of this manuscript. This research was supported in part by a grant from the Laidlaw Foundation. Dr. Segal is a Medical Research Council Fellow.

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Segal, Z.V., Shaw, B.F. Cognition in depression: A reappraisal of Coyne and Gotlib's critique. Cogn Ther Res 10, 671–693 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173754

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