Which five approaches are in Eduqas Component 1?

The biological, behaviourist, psychodynamic, cognitive and positive approaches. For each you learn its assumptions, a named therapy or method of changing behaviour, a classic piece of research evidence and a contemporary debate. The biological, behaviourist and cognitive approaches are studied at AS; the psychodynamic and positive approaches are added at A2.

What therapy goes with each approach?

Biological uses drug therapy (for example SSRIs and antipsychotics that change neurochemistry). Behaviourist uses conditioning-based therapies such as systematic desensitisation, aversion therapy and token economies. Psychodynamic uses psychoanalysis (free association, dream analysis, transference). Cognitive uses cognitive behavioural therapy. Positive psychology uses strengths-based interventions, gratitude exercises and mindfulness.

Which approaches are AS and which are A2?

The biological, behaviourist and cognitive approaches are AS content, studied in the first year. The psychodynamic and positive approaches are added at A2 in the second year, so the full A-level covers all five. The AS award is a separate qualification covering the AS subset.

How are the approaches examined?

On Component 1 (Psychology: Past to Present), a 2-hour-15-minute paper worth 100 marks and 33.3 percent. Questions ask you to describe each approach's assumptions, apply them to a behaviour or scenario, describe its therapy, and evaluate the approach. Evaluation carries the most marks (AO3 is the largest objective), so balanced, evidenced judgement is essential.

How should I compare the approaches?

Compare them on the big debates: nature versus nurture (biological is nature, behaviourist is nurture), determinism versus free will (behaviourist and biological are deterministic, positive stresses free will), and how scientific they are (biological and cognitive are scientific, psychodynamic is unfalsifiable). Use the same behaviour, for example a phobia, explained four or five ways to show you understand the differences.

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Eduqas A-Level Psychology: the five approaches (Component 1) overview

A complete Eduqas A-Level Psychology guide to the five approaches in Component 1: biological, behaviourist, psychodynamic, cognitive and positive. Covers each approach's assumptions, named therapy, the AS and A2 split, and how the approaches are examined on the Past to Present paper.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.813 min readEduqas-A290-Component-1Updated 2026-06-02

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

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What the approaches demand
The five approaches
Check your knowledge

What the approaches demand

Component 1 (Psychology: Past to Present) is built on five approaches. For each you must know its assumptions, a named therapy or method of changing behaviour, a classic study and a contemporary debate, and you must apply and evaluate the approach. This guide maps the five approaches and how they are examined, with matching dot-point pages for practice.

The five approaches

Biological (AS): Behaviour has a physical basis: genes, brain structure and localisation, neurochemistry and evolution. Therapy: drug therapy (for example SSRIs raising serotonin, antipsychotics reducing dopamine). Scientific and clinically useful, but reductionist and often correlational.
Behaviourist (AS): All behaviour is learned from the environment: the blank slate, classical conditioning (Pavlov) and operant conditioning (Skinner). Therapy: systematic desensitisation, aversion therapy, token economies. Scientific with useful applications, but deterministic and reliant on animal evidence.
Psychodynamic (A2): The unconscious drives behaviour: the unconscious mind, the id-ego-superego, psychosexual stages and defence mechanisms. Therapy: psychoanalysis (free association, dream analysis). Influential and explains hidden causes, but unfalsifiable and rests on case studies.
Cognitive (AS): Internal mental processes govern behaviour: the computer analogy, internal mental processes and schemas. Therapy: cognitive behavioural therapy. Scientific and clinically powerful, but can be mechanistic and uses artificial tasks.
Positive (A2): Psychology should study flourishing: free will, the good life, the three pillars (positive emotions, traits and institutions), signature strengths and flow. Applications: strengths interventions, gratitude, mindfulness. Empowering and practical, but hard to measure and possibly culturally biased.

Check your knowledge

Name the therapy associated with the biological approach. (1 mark)
State the two types of conditioning in the behaviourist approach. (2 marks)
Name the three parts of the psychodynamic personality. (3 marks)
State Seligman's three pillars of positive psychology. (3 marks)

Sources & how we know this

Eduqas GCE A Level in Psychology (A290) specification — Eduqas (2015)