Lesson 4.1.4.4

4.1.4.4 Cognitive approach to depression Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 4.1.4.4, Cognitive approach to depression: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Psychology (7182), Unit 1: Introductory topics in Psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. What are the three elements of Beck's negative triad?

    • Negative views of food, sleep and exercise
    • Negative views of the self, the world and the future
    • Negative views of money, time and health
    • Negative views of parents, friends and teachers

  2. In Ellis's ABC model, what does the letter B represent?

    • Beliefs, which may be irrational and lead to negative emotional consequences
    • Biological factors, which are the physical causes of depression
    • Behaviour, which is the observable action taken by a person
    • Background, which is the person's childhood history

  3. In Ellis's ABC model, what does the letter A represent?

    • The activating event that a person experiences
    • The adaptation that occurs after treatment
    • The attachment bond that the person has with others
    • The anxiety that results from the belief

  4. In Ellis's ABC model, what does the letter C represent?

    • The cause of the depression in the person's biology, which is inherited and sets the level of mood across life
    • The contact the person has with their family, which shapes how often they feel sad and withdrawn at home
    • The consequence, meaning the emotional and behavioural outcome of the belief
    • The cycle of thoughts that the person repeats, which keeps the mind busy and stops any change in mood

  5. What is the main aim of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) in treating depression?

    • To restrict the person's contact with friends, so that negative thoughts have less chance to take hold
    • To change the person's genetic makeup, so that the inherited risk of depression is removed over time
    • To remove all memories of past negative events, so that the person no longer recalls painful experiences at all
    • To identify and challenge irrational thoughts and replace them with more realistic ones

  6. Which example best illustrates an irrational thought that CBT would challenge in depression?

    • The weather today is cold and I need a warm coat
    • I missed the bus and will get to school a few minutes late
    • I failed one test, so I will always fail everything and I am worthless
    • I need to revise more for the next test to improve my grade

  7. According to the cognitive approach, what role do negative thoughts play in depression?

    • They are a central cause that maintains the depression and drives negative emotions
    • They are only a result of depression and never a cause
    • They only appear after recovery from depression
    • They have no role at all in depression, which is only caused by genes

  8. Which feature of the ABC model suggests that beliefs, rather than events, cause emotional consequences?

    • The model places the consequence before the activating event, so that feelings come before any cause in the chain
    • The model places biology between the event and the belief, so that hormones decide how a person interprets the event
    • The model excludes beliefs from the chain of events, so that feelings follow directly from the event itself
    • The model places irrational beliefs between the activating event and the consequence

  9. A student fails an exam and concludes that they are stupid and will never succeed. Using the ABC model, which part is the belief?

    • The student's decision to stop studying, which is the behaviour that follows the exam result in the sequence
    • The conclusion that they are stupid and will never succeed
    • The failure of the exam, which was the event that happened first in the sequence of the student's experience
    • The sadness that the student feels afterwards, which is the emotional result that follows from the exam result

  10. A student fails an exam and feels sad and withdraws from friends. Which part of the ABC model is the consequence?

    • The decision to revise for the next exam
    • The exam failure
    • The sadness and withdrawal from friends
    • The belief that the failure proves the student is stupid

  11. Which of these is an example of a cognitive restructuring technique used in CBT?

    • Asking the person to avoid all situations that might cause negative thoughts, so that they stay away from triggers
    • Using electric shock to remove negative thoughts, because the pain was thought to break the link with the belief
    • Asking the person to test the evidence for a negative belief and consider alternative explanations
    • Asking the person to repeat the same negative belief many times, so that the belief becomes weaker through repetition

  12. What is a behavioural experiment in CBT?

    • A test of the person's reflexes during a physical examination, in which the doctor records how quickly the limbs respond
    • An experiment conducted by a researcher in a laboratory on rats, in which the animal's response to a reward is measured over time
    • A planned activity that tests a negative belief in real life, such as trying an activity to see whether a prediction comes true
    • A survey of the person's favourite activities, in which they list the things that they enjoy most in their free time each week

  13. Which evaluation point applies to the cognitive approach to depression?

    • It has good evidence of effectiveness for many people, but may not suit those whose depression has a strong biological cause
    • It cannot be used alongside any other treatment, so patients must choose either therapy or medication and never both together
    • It is wholly ineffective, as shown by all studies of depression, which have found no improvement in any patient treated with it
    • It has no connection with the patient's thoughts, since the therapy works only on the patient's physical and biological state

  14. Which criticism of the cognitive explanation of depression is most valid?

    • It is unclear whether negative thoughts cause depression or are a consequence of it
    • It shows that all people with depression have identical thoughts, which means the content of their thinking can be predicted
    • It proves that depression is caused only by genes, so the thoughts that people report are only a side effect of inheritance
    • It has been ruled out by every study since 1950, so researchers no longer consider thinking to play any part in depression

  15. Which evaluation point applies to CBT as a treatment for depression?

    • It requires the patient to be active and engaged
    • It works only through drug therapy
    • It can be carried out without any participation from the patient
    • It has no effect on the patient's emotional state

  16. A person with depression believes that no one will ever like them. Which element of Beck's negative triad does this most directly reflect?

    • A negative view of the self
    • A negative view of the future
    • A negative view of the world
    • A neutral view of all three

  17. A person with depression thinks that life is unfair and that nothing good ever happens to them. Which triad elements are reflected?

    • Negative views of the world and of the self
    • Positive views of the world and the self
    • Negative views of the future only
    • A neutral view of the world and the future

  18. A psychologist uses the ABC model to help a client with depression. Which first step is most consistent with the model?

    • Ask the client to record their dreams, which will show the underlying beliefs that are driving the depressive symptoms
    • Ask the client to avoid all activating events, so that the belief is never triggered and the depression slowly fades away
    • Prescribe medication to change the client's chemistry, which is the first and main step in any treatment of depression
    • Identify the activating event and the belief that the client has about it

  19. A researcher wants to test whether CBT reduces depression more than no treatment. Which design would be most informative?

    • Measure depression only in those who choose to have CBT, and compare their scores with their own earlier self-reports
    • Randomly allocate depressed participants to CBT or a control group and compare their depression levels
    • Compare depression levels in people who have never been depressed, and treat the difference as the effect of the therapy
    • Ask CBT therapists whether they think CBT works, and count how many of them give a positive answer about its value

  20. A person's depression improves after challenging their belief that they are worthless. What does this best support?

    • The biological explanation that depression is caused only by genes
    • The cognitive explanation that changing irrational thoughts can improve depression
    • The psychodynamic explanation that depression is caused by repressed childhood conflict
    • The behavioural explanation that depression is caused by avoidance of feared stimuli

All AQA Psychology quizzes