WJEC A-Level Psychology Unit 1 Psychology: Past to Present: a deep dive on the five approaches

What Unit 1 actually demands

Psychology: Past to Present introduces the five approaches that frame the whole course: the biological, psychodynamic, behaviourist, cognitive and positive approaches. The unit is built on a single repeating template. For each approach you study its assumptions, its application to the formation of relationships, one therapy derived from it, a classic study, and an evaluation. Master the template once and the unit becomes five fillings of the same form.

This guide sets out the template, walks through all five approaches in turn, and ends with the exam patterns WJEC repeats. Each approach has a matching dot-point page with practice questions; this overview ties them together.

The five-heading template

Every approach in Unit 1 is examined under the same five headings.

1. Assumptions. The core ideas about what causes behaviour.
2. Application to the formation of relationships. How the approach explains why we form relationships.
3. Therapy. A method of changing behaviour derived from the approach.
4. Classic study. One named piece of research.
5. Evaluation. Strengths and weaknesses, ending in a judgement.

The biological approach

Behaviour has a physical basis in the brain, neurochemistry, genes and evolution. Relationships form through evolutionary advantage and bonding hormones such as oxytocin. The therapy is drug treatment (for example SSRIs that raise serotonin). The classic study is Raine et al. (1997), who used PET scans to link reduced prefrontal activity to violence in murderers pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. The approach is scientific but reductionist and deterministic.

The psychodynamic approach

Behaviour is driven by the unconscious and by conflict between the id, ego and superego, shaped by childhood psychosexual stages. Relationships replay early bonds. The therapy is psychoanalysis (free association, dream analysis, transference). The classic study is Bowlby (1944), the forty-four juvenile thieves, linking early maternal separation to affectionless psychopathy. The approach is rich but unfalsifiable and subjective.

The behaviourist approach

All behaviour is learned from the environment through classical conditioning (association, Pavlov) and operant conditioning (consequences, Skinner). Relationships form through reinforcement and association. The therapy is systematic desensitisation for phobias. The classic study is Watson and Rayner (1920), who conditioned fear in Little Albert. The approach is scientific but reductionist, deterministic and ethically problematic.

The cognitive approach

Behaviour is the product of internal mental processes that work like an information processor, guided by schemas. Relationships form through perception and attribution. The therapy is cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). The classic study is Loftus and Palmer (1974), showing that leading questions reconstruct eyewitness memory. The approach is scientific but relies on inference and can be artificial.

The positive approach

Psychology should study wellbeing, strengths and flourishing, not just disorder, and people have free will to build a good life. Relationships form and thrive through positive emotion and gratitude. The therapy is positive psychology techniques such as the gratitude exercise. The classic study is Myers and Diener (1995), "Who is happy?", on the correlates of subjective wellbeing. The approach is empowering but faces measurement and cultural challenges.

How Unit 1 is examined

AS Unit 1 is a 1 hour 30 minute written paper worth 80 marks (20 percent of the A level). A typical profile:

• Describe questions (AO1). "Describe the assumptions of the X approach" or "Describe the classic study for X", usually worth around 8 marks.
• Apply questions (AO2). Outlining how an approach explains the formation of relationships, or applying a therapy to a scenario.
• Evaluate questions (AO3). Extended 12-mark evaluations of an approach, where developed strengths and weaknesses and a conclusion earn the top marks.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and evaluation questions covering the whole of Unit 1. Attempt them under timed conditions, then check against the solutions.

1. Name the five approaches studied in Unit 1. (5 marks)
2. State two assumptions of the biological approach. (2 marks)
3. Describe the classic study of Watson and Rayner (1920). (4 marks)
4. Outline how the cognitive approach explains the formation of relationships. (3 marks)
5. Name the therapy associated with the behaviourist approach and outline how it works. (3 marks)
6. Explain one weakness of the psychodynamic approach. (3 marks)
7. Describe what Myers and Diener (1995) found about who is happy. (4 marks)
8. Briefly evaluate the cognitive approach. (4 marks)