Eduqas A Level Psychology
Eduqas A Level Psychology Positive Approach Exam Questions
Free Eduqas A Level Psychology revision for Positive Approach: what you need to know, common mistakes and exam-style questions with answers. Covers free will, goodness and excellence, the good life, mindfulness or quality of life therapy and Myers and Diener (1995).
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About Eduqas A Level Psychology Positive Approach
The positive approach is the newest of the five approaches in Component 1. It moves away from treating disorder and instead studies what makes life worth living. You learn its assumptions (free will, the authenticity of goodness and excellence, and a focus on 'the good life'), one therapy (mindfulness or quality of life therapy), and the classic research by Myers and Diener (1995), 'Who is happy?'. The contemporary debate asks how relevant positive psychology is in today's society. Examiners like questions on what Myers and Diener found about wealth, age and relationships, and on whether happiness can be measured scientifically.
What you need to know
- Acknowledgement of free will People are seen as active agents who can choose how they think and act, so they can work towards happiness rather than being determined by biology or past experience.
- Authenticity of goodness and excellence Positive traits such as kindness, courage and wisdom are as real and natural as negative ones. Peterson and Seligman classified 24 character strengths under six virtues.
- Focus on 'the good life' Seligman described the pleasant life (positive emotion), the good life (using your strengths for engagement and flow) and the meaningful life (using strengths for something bigger than yourself).
- Myers and Diener (1995) Who is happy? A review of large-scale survey research on subjective well-being. Happiness was only weakly related to age, gender, race and, once basic needs are met, wealth. It was more closely linked to traits such as self-esteem, a sense of personal control, optimism and extraversion, to close relationships and marriage, to absorbing work (flow) and to religious faith.
- Mindfulness or quality of life therapy Mindfulness-based therapy (such as the eight-week MBCT course) trains non-judgemental, present-moment awareness through breathing practice and body scans. Quality of life therapy (Frisch) uses the CASIO model: changing Circumstances, Attitudes, Standards, Importance and Overall satisfaction across areas of life.
- Relevance of positive psychology today Supporters point to well-being programmes in schools and workplaces and evidence that interventions such as gratitude exercises raise well-being. Critics argue it can blame people for unhappiness, ignores social causes such as poverty and reflects individualist Western values.
Common mistakes in Positive Approach
- Describing Myers and Diener as an experiment. It is a review of survey-based research, so it relies on self-report and cannot show cause and effect.
- Saying money has no link at all to happiness. Myers and Diener reported that wealth matters little once basic needs are met, but severe poverty is linked to lower well-being.
- Confusing the pleasant life and the good life. The pleasant life is about positive emotion; the good life is about using signature strengths to find engagement and flow.
- Evaluating the positive approach only as 'unscientific'. Explain why: concepts such as happiness are hard to operationalise, and much data is self-report, then balance this with measurable outcomes from interventions.
Try three Positive Approach exam-style questions
1. Outline two findings from Myers and Diener (1995). (4 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Happiness was only weakly related to age, with no life stage notably happier; wealth had little effect on happiness once basic needs were met; happy people tended to have traits such as self-esteem, optimism, extraversion and personal control; close relationships and marriage were linked to higher well-being.
2. Describe the main components of mindfulness as a therapy. (6 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Focus on present-moment awareness; non-judgemental acceptance of thoughts and feelings; practices such as focused breathing, body scans and mindful movement; often delivered as a structured course, such as eight weekly group sessions in MBCT; daily home practice; aim is to step back from negative thoughts rather than get caught in them.
3. Compare the positive approach with the psychodynamic approach. (6 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Positive approach assumes free will whereas psychodynamic is determinist, driven by unconscious forces and childhood; positive focuses on strengths and well-being while psychodynamic focuses on conflict and disorder; both use self-report data that is hard to verify; positive research uses large surveys while psychodynamic relies on case studies; both have been criticised for limited scientific testability.
Positive Approach FAQs
What does Eduqas A Level Psychology Component 1 Positive Approach cover?
The assumptions of free will, goodness and excellence, and the good life, mindfulness or quality of life therapy, Myers and Diener (1995), and the debate on the relevance of positive psychology.
Which paper is the positive approach examined in?
It is examined in Component 1, Psychology: Past to Present, a 2 hour 15 minute written paper worth one third of the A level.
How should I evaluate Myers and Diener (1995)?
Consider the very large, cross-national data it draws on, the reliance on self-report, correlational design, cultural differences in what happiness means, and its practical value for policy and therapy.
