MCAT Psych/Soc

Misinformation effect

the tendency for memories to be altered by misleading information presented after an event

Biopsychosocial model

biopsychosocial approach refers to involving biological, social, and psychological concepts or variables in a study

Perceptual learning

Perceptual learning refers to learning to discriminate between two perceptually similar stimuli.

Life course approach

posits that early life events influence an individual's later life outcomes

Sensitization

Sensitization refers to an increased likelihood of response to a stimulus.

Social epidemiology

Social epidemiology involves the study of social factors contributing to human health and disease

Habituation

lack of response to a stimulus after continued exposure

Symbolic interactionism

micro level, interactions among social actors, is more directly related to studying social practices and rituals.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Cognitive dissonance theory holds that when an individual holds two inconsistent attitudes or behaviors they experience psychological distress

Display rules

informal culturally rooted norms that dictate how when and to whom emotions should be expressed or suppressed

Elaboration likelihood model

a theory of which types of information are most likely to be persuasive under different conditions

Baumrind's theory of parenting styles

describes authoritative authoritarian permissive and neglectful parenting styles based on responsiveness and demandingness

Evolutionary psychology

suggests that behavior patterns have evolved due to natural selection including mate selection tendencies

Social facilitation

Social facilitation occurs when the presence of an audience improves performance

General adaptation syndrome

General adaptation syndrome focuses on the impact of chronic stress on physiological functioning through alarm resistance and exhaustion

Mere exposure effect

mere exposure effect refers to the tendency for increased preference for a repeated stimulus

Age regression

Age regression is a Freudian defense mechanism in which an individual regresses to an earlier stage in development

Hyper-reflexivity

a tendency to focus on one's perceptual experiences and inability to focus on the outer world

Synesthesia

Synesthesia involves the experience of more than one sense simultaneously

Incongruence

incongruence refers to the discrepancy between the actual and ideal self

Blindsight

allows the person to perform certain visual tasks without being consciously aware of the visual stimulus

Looking-glass self

how we believe others see us to be

Agnosia

Agnosia refers to the loss of ability to identify certain stimuli despite normally functioning senses

Behaviorist

focuses on learning processes such as classical and operant conditioning

Functionalism

Functionalism is a macro theory focused on how parts of society work together to form a whole

Humanistic

Humanistic theory focuses on the belief that humans are inherently good and strive toward self actualization

Exchange theory

Exchange theory argues that behaviors are based on perceived social consequences

Psychodynamic

Psychodynamic theory focuses primarily on unconscious processes

Conflict theory

Conflict theory is a macro theory focused on competition among sectors of society

Social cognitive

Social cognitive theory focuses on observational learning and modeling

Door in the face

door in the face technique involves following a rejected large request with a smaller request to increase compliance

Lowball technique

lowball technique refers to starting with a good deal then adding hidden costs

Social identity

the social backgrounds an individual accepts

Anomie

Anomie emerges when there is a mismatch between social realities and institutional practices

Inclusive fitness

Inclusive fitness occurs when individuals increase reproductive success of relatives

Xenophobia

Xenophobia refers to negative bias against foreigners

Semantics

Semantics is word meaning

Heuristics

Heuristics are cognitive rules of thumb that offer shortcuts to reasoning

Phonology

Phonology refers to speech sounds that are combined to form words

Critical period

refers to a stage when individuals are most receptive to learning

Syntax

Syntax refers to rules of grammar that dictate sentence construction

Cognitive schema

Schemas are knowledge structures that determine expectations

Pragmatics

Pragmatics refer to social conventions of language such as turn taking

Cultural transmission

transmission of values and practices from one generation to another

Cultural diffusion

mutual exchange of cultural values among groups

Weber's law

minimum detectable change in stimulus intensity is a constant proportion of original intensity

Perceptual constancy

tendency to perceive stable objects despite changes in sensory input

Structural mobility

social mobility due to large scale social changes

Disengagement theory

older individuals gradually withdraw from society

Ecological perspective

focuses on environmental influences on development

Differential association theory

deviance is learned through interaction with close groups

Optimistic bias

tendency to overestimate positive outcomes and underestimate negative ones

Survey methods

collect data using structured questions for statistical analysis

Secondary reinforcement

stimuli that gain reinforcing properties through association with primary reinforcers

Ethnographic methods

qualitative in person observation of cultures over time

Scapegoating

assigning blame to an identifiable group for complex problems

Experimental methods

manipulation of independent variable to determine causation

Learned helplessness

state resulting from exposure to uncontrollable negative events

Comparative methods

compare different groups or cases

Avoidance learning

behavior prevents an aversive stimulus

Normative social influence

conforming to be accepted by a group

Informational social influence

conforming due to uncertainty

Hawthorne effect

behavior changes because participants know they are observed

Extrinsic motivation

motivation driven by external rewards

Demand characteristics

cues that influence participant behavior

External motivation

social pressure as a form of extrinsic motivation

Self serving bias

attribute success to self and failure to external factors

Autonomous motivation

internal drive to achieve goals

Confirmation bias

tendency to favor confirming information

Base rate fallacy

ignoring prior probabilities

Glass escalator

men advance faster in female dominated professions

Hindsight bias

belief that outcomes were predictable

Overconfidence effect

overestimating accuracy of beliefs

Observer bias

researcher expectations influence data

Availability heuristic

judging likelihood based on ease of recall

Public verifiability

ability for others to replicate findings

Social capital

value of social networks

Cultural capital

advantages from cultural background

Status group

groups based on prestige

Maladaptiveness

behavior interferes with functioning

Naming explosion

rapid vocabulary growth in toddlers

Elaborative encoding

linking new info to existing memory

Overextension

using one word too broadly

Monocular depth cue

depth cues using one eye such as relative size and interposition

Categorical perception

perceiving continuous input as distinct categories

Culture lag

delay in norms adapting to technology

Bootstrapping

using basic language knowledge to infer rules

Disinhibition

lack of restraint and impulsivity

Collective efficacy

group's shared belief in ability to achieve goals

Institutional discrimination

policies that disproportionately impact groups

Reflective contemplation

internal thought process without social interaction

Centration

focus on one aspect of a problem

Reproductive memory

recall is not perfectly accurate

REM rebound

increased REM after deprivation

Flashbulb memory

vivid emotional memories

Fundamental attribution error

overemphasizing internal causes for others

Prospective memory

remembering future tasks

Dichotic listening task

different auditory inputs to each ear

Eidetic memory

highly detailed visual memory

PET

measures metabolic activity in brain