Critical review of a theory of Major Depressive Disorder

Instructions

In this assignment you are to conduct a Critical Review (Critique) of a theory of Major Depressive Disorder. You will be reviewing the literature that is relevant to the theory you have selected.

You are reviewing one particular, evidence-based psychological theory of that disorder. A psychological theory should primarily refer to thoughts, behaviours, and/or social factors, rather than focusing on biological factors.

The assignment has 2 main components:

1. You should begin with a brief overview of the theory you have chosen - summarizing the main aspects of the theory. This is important because you cannot effectively critique a theory if you do not understand its main components. This first section should not contain any critical analysis.

2. The main part of this assignment is to provide an evidence-based critical review of the theory that you have chosen, finishing with a conclusion that draws together the material you have discussed. Further details regarding the critical review are provided below. However, overall you should consider is whether the theory appears to be a good one - does it account for the major aspects of the disorder and does evidence support the various components of the theory? Is there any contradicting evidence? Extensive research and referencing is required to complete the critical review.

In your Critical Review, you need to refer to published literature to critique the evidence for the usefulness of the selected theory. In particular, you should focus on explaining the key strengths of the theory as well as its key limitations or weaknesses.

Some questions to guide your critique might include: What features of the disorder does the theory account for and what can it not account for? Does the theory explain known characteristics of the disorder? Is there cross-cultural evidence for the theory? How does the theory relate to other theories in the literature? Does an alternative theory explain something about the disorder that your chosen theory cannot (e.g., if your theory cannot explain why the disorder is more prevalent in females, but a competing theory can, this is a limitation of your theory). Is there evidence that truly shows the causal role of features described in the theory, or is the evidence mainly correlational? How effective is treatment that derives from the theory, and how does this compare to the effectiveness of other treatments for the same disorder? What further research is required to expand or test the theory or the treatment that derives from it - in other words, what do we not yet know regarding this theory?

You will not be able to address all of these issues within the word limit and might choose to focus on other issues instead. However you will need to decide what is relevant and important (i.e., what issues arise in the literature) for the theory that you've chosen. Please remember that no theoretical model accounts for all aspects of any psychological disorder, so it is important that you show evidence that you understand the strengths and limitations of the theory that you are reviewing. Part of this involves critiquing the literature that you are reviewing - for example, does a particular study or body of literature contain methodological flaws that render its conclusions uncertain?

Your review should end with a conclusion in which you provide your evidence-based opinion (using references) of the usefulness of the theory that you've reviewed.

I suggest that you use headings and subheadings to help organize and structure your review.

For some ideas about how to write and present a critical review, see some articles in the journal

Referencing

In-text referencing and a reference list (in APA format, 6th edition) are required.

Word length

Maximum of 1500 words (excluding reference list and cover page).