Psychology & Sociology High-Yield MCAT Notes

A set of comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering sensing, perception, learning, memory, development, social processes, and inequality for MCAT review.

Absolute threshold

The minimum stimulus intensity required to be detected $50\%$ of the time, influenced by factors like attention and expectation.

Weber’s law

The principle stating the just-noticeable difference is proportional to the baseline stimulus intensity, where $JND = \frac{\Delta I}{I} = \text{constant}$.

Signal detection theory

A framework for decision-making under uncertainty that categorizes outcomes as hits, misses, false alarms, or correct rejections.

Lens

The eye structure that fine-tunes visual focus for near and far objects through a process called accommodation, controlled by ciliary muscles.

Cornea

The main eye structure responsible for the majority of refractive power due to its fixed curvature.

Photoreceptors

Retinal cells (rods and cones) that perform visual transduction by converting light into neural signals.

Rods

Cells specialized for low-light vision and peripheral vision that have high sensitivity but poor spatial resolution.

Cones

Retinal cells responsible for color vision and high visual acuity, primarily located in the fovea.

Fovea

The retinal region within the macula containing only cones, responsible for the highest visual acuity and color discrimination.

Optic nerve

Composed of ganglion cell axons, this structure transmits visual information to the brain and creates a physiologic blind spot at the optic disc.

Gestalt principle of similarity

The perceptual rule where elements sharing visual characteristics like color, shape, or size are grouped together.

Gestalt principle of proximity

The tendency to group objects together based on their spatial closeness.

Gestalt principle of connectedness

A strong grouping cue where physically linked elements are perceived as belonging together.

Gestalt principle of closure

The mental tendency to fill in missing information to perceive incomplete figures as whole shapes.

Gestalt principle of continuity

A principle favoring smooth, continuous paths and simple visual trajectories over abrupt changes.

Classical conditioning

Learning by association where a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) to elicit a response.

Operant conditioning

A type of learning based on associating voluntary behaviors with rewards (reinforcement) or punishments.

Extinction

The process where a learned behavior weakens and eventually stops when reinforcement or stimulus pairing is no longer provided.

Stimulus discrimination

The ability to respond differently to similar stimuli based on which ones predict reinforcement.

Stimulus generalization

Extending a learned response to stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus.

Shaping

An operant process involving the reinforcement of successive approximations toward a target complex behavior.

Spontaneous recovery

The sudden reappearance of a conditioned response after it has undergone extinction and a rest period.

Neural plasticity

The brain's ability to undergo structural and functional changes, such as synaptic strengthening, in response to experience.

Sensory memory

A modality-specific memory system (iconic or echoic) that holds raw information for a very short duration of milliseconds to seconds.

Short-term (working) memory

A system that maintains approximately $7 \pm 2$ items through rehearsal, acting as a gateway to long-term memory.

Explicit (declarative) memory

Conscious recall of facts (semantic) and events (episodic), heavily reliant on the hippocampus.

Implicit (procedural) memory

Unconscious memory for skills and conditioned responses, such as knowing how to ride a bicycle.

Reconstructive memory

The property of memory that allows it to be altered by schemas or later information, making it susceptible to false memories.

Flashbulb memory

Vivid, emotionally charged memories of significant events that feel certain despite declining accuracy over time.

Misinformation effect

The alteration of an original memory due to exposure to misleading post-event information.

Source monitoring error

A memory error involving confusion regarding the origin of a memory, such as attributing imagination to a real event.

Spreading activation

A mechanism where the activation of one concept in an associative network triggers the recall of related ideas.

Primacy effect

The tendency to better remember the first items on a list because they receive more rehearsal and enter long-term memory.

Piaget: Sensorimotor stage

The stage from birth to $\sim 2$ years where infants learn through sensation and movement, developing object permanence.

Piaget: Preoperational stage

The stage from $\sim 2$ to $7$ years characterized by symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and a lack of conservation.

Piaget: Concrete operational stage

The stage from $\sim 7$ to $11$ years where individuals can think logically about tangible events and understand conservation.

Piaget: Formal operational stage

The stage starting at $\sim 12$ years involving abstract reasoning, hypothetical-deductive thought, and systematic problem-solving.

Freud: Psychosexual stages

A developmental model consisting of the oral ($0-1$ years), anal ($1-3$ years), phallic ($3-6$ years), latency ($6-12$ years), and genital (adolescence onward) stages.

Linguistic relativity hypothesis

The idea that language shapes and influences how people perceive and categorize their experiences.

Yerkes–Dodson law

A theory stating that performance is optimal at moderate arousal, with simple tasks tolerating higher arousal than complex tasks.

Schema

Organized cognitive frameworks or pre-existing mental structures that guide how information is interpreted and remembered.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts used for quick decision-making under constraints, which focus on efficiency over accuracy.

Functional fixedness

A cognitive limitation where an object is only seen in its usual or traditional role, hindering problem-solving.

General adaptation syndrome

A three-stage model of the long-term stress response consisting of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Schachter–Singer theory

A theory of emotion stating that it results from the combination of nonspecific physiological arousal and context-based cognitive labeling.

Autonomic nervous system

The system regulating involuntary functions, divided into the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) branches.

Five-factor model (Big Five)

A personality traits model categorized by openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (OCEAN).

Brain structures

Key areas including the amygdala (emotion), hippocampus (memory), and cerebellum (motor coordination).

Brain cortices

The frontal (reasoning), parietal (sensory), temporal (auditory/memory), and occipital (vision) lobes.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers like Dopamine (reward), Serotonin (mood), Norepinephrine (arousal), GABA (inhibition), and Acetylcholine (muscle activation).

Cognitive dissonance

Psychological discomfort resulting from conflicting beliefs or behaviors, leading individuals to change their attitudes to restore consistency.

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious strategies to reduce anxiety, such as denial, repression, projection, displacement, reaction formation, regression, rationalization, and sublimation.

Agents of socialization

Collective influences like family, school, peers, and media that shape an individual's norms and values throughout life.

Observational learning

Learning that occurs by watching others, often involving modeling and the activity of mirror neurons.

Reinforcement and Punishment

Operant mechanisms where reinforcement (positive or negative) increases behavior and punishment (positive or negative) decreases behavior.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

A persuasion model distinguishing between the central route (logic and high elaboration) and the peripheral route (superficial cues).

Erikson: Psychosocial stages

A series of life conflicts including Trust vs Mistrust, Autonomy vs Shame, Initiative vs Guilt, Industry vs Inferiority, Identity vs Role Confusion, Intimacy vs Isolation, Generativity vs Stagnation, and Integrity vs Despair.

Looking-glass self

The sociological concept that self-identity develops through internalized perceptions of how others see and react to us.

Impression management

The process of consciously managing social presentation, often categorized as front stage (public) versus back stage (private) behavior.

Locus of control

The degree to which people believe they have control over outcomes, categorized as internal (self-driven) or external (luck/outside forces).

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to overemphasize personal traits and underestimate situational factors when judging the failures of others.

Self-efficacy vs Self-esteem

Self-efficacy is the belief in one's ability to perform specific tasks, while self-esteem is an overall sense of self-worth.

Conflict theory

A sociological perspective focusing on power differentials and class struggle as the primary drivers of social change.

Structural functionalism

A framework viewing society as a system of interdependent parts working together to maintain stability.

Symbolic interactionism

A micro-level perspective emphasizing that reality and identity are constructed through everyday symbols and interactions.

Demographic transition model

A model describing the shift from high birth and death rates to low rates as a society industrializes.

Social capital and Cultural capital

Social capital refers to networks and relationships, while cultural capital refers to non-financial resources like education and skills.