MCAT Behavioral.docx

Gall

Believed brain was the basis for psychology

Phrenology

Theory that traits correspond to skull shape (disproven)

Flourens

Different brain regions have different functions

Extirpation/ablation

Removing parts of the brain to observe changes in behavior

James

Known as the "father of American psychology"

Functionalism

Focuses on the mind adapting to the environment

Broca

Specific impairments linked to specific brain lesions

Von Helmholtz

Studied the speed of nerve impulses

Sherrington

Studied synapses

Neuron types

Sensory/afferent, Interneurons, Motor/efferent

Reflex arc

Sensory–interneuron–motor pathway for rapid response

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Includes the brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Nerve tissues/fibers outside the CNS

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Controls involuntary muscles

Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)

"Fight or flight" response

Parasympathetic Nervous System (PSNS)

"Rest and digest" response

Lower Motor Neurons (LMNs)

Control limb/trunk muscles

Upper Motor Neurons (UMNs)

Control head/neck muscles

Meninges

Connective tissue covering the brain

Hindbrain/rhombencephalon

Vital functions like balance and breathing

Midbrain/mesencephalon

Involuntary reflexes from visual/auditory stimuli

Forebrain/prosencephalon

Complex perception, cognition, behavior

Diencephalon

Includes hypothalamus, thalamus, pineal gland

Telencephalon

Includes cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic system

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals for rapid signaling in the brain

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Involved in attention and arousal

Epinephrine (Epi)/adrenaline, norepinephrine (NE)/noradrenaline

For alertness and "fight or flight" response

Dopamine

Important for movement and posture

Serotonin

Regulates mood, eating, sleeping, dreaming

γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

Inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain

Adrenal Cortex

Produces corticosteroids (e.g., cortisol) and some sex hormones (testosterone, estrogens)

Genetics

Influence on behaviors, including species-specific behaviors and the "nature vs. nurture" debate

Adaptive Value

The extent to which a trait or behavior enhances evolutionary fitness

Innate Behavior

Genetically inherited behaviors, often referred to as "nature"

Learned Behavior

Behaviors acquired through experience and the environment, often referred to as "nurture"

Family Studies

Comparing family members to unrelated individuals to measure genetic influence

Twin Studies

Comparing identical (MZ) and fraternal (DZ) twins to understand genetic contributions

Adoption Studies

Comparing adoptees to adoptive and biological relatives to study genetic influence

Development

Includes prenatal stages like neurulation and external influences on motor development

Sensation

Involves transducing stimuli into signals and the role of sensory receptors

Perception

The process of interpreting sensory information and forming perceptions

Threshold

The minimum stimulus intensity required for perception

Signal Detection Theory

Perception influenced by nonsensory factors like experiences and expectations

Adaptation

Physiological and psychological changes in response to stimuli detection

Vision

Involves the eye's structure, transduction of light, and visual pathways

Hearing

Includes the ear's anatomy, sound transduction, and pathways for auditory information

Other Senses

Covers smell, taste, and somatosensation, including receptors and pathways

Object Recognition

The process of identifying objects through bottom-up or top-down processing, involving parallel processing, feature detection, and perceptual organization.

Gestalt Principles

Rules of perceptual organization including continuity, subjective contours, similarity, proximity, prägnanz, and closure, aiding in inferring missing parts of a picture.

Learning

The acquisition of new behavior through habituation, associative learning (classical conditioning, operant conditioning), and observational learning.

Memory Encoding

The process of putting new information into memory through controlled/effortful or automatic processing, utilizing techniques like maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal.

Memory Storage

The retention of information in sensory memory, short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory, involving different types of encoding and storage techniques.

Memory Retrieval

The process of fetching information from long-term memory to working memory using retrieval cues, such as free recall, cued recall, and recognition.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to form new neural connections, undergo synaptic pruning, and exhibit long-term potentiation, influencing learning and memory.

Cognition

The mental processes involved in thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making, influenced by cognitive development stages like Piaget's stages and factors like fluid and crystallized intelligence.

Problem-Solving

The process of analyzing stimuli to make decisions, involving situational modification, schema adaptation, and cognitive development stages.

Decision-Making

The cognitive process of choosing a course of action among several alternatives, influenced by environmental factors, intellectual decline, and cognitive abilities.

Frame problem

Process of generating potential solutions from a mental set, testing these solutions, and evaluating them.

Well-defined problems

Problems with clear start and endpoints, while ill-defined problems lack clarity in these aspects.

Mental set

Approach of solving similar problems in the same way.

Functional fixedness

Inability to think of using an object unconventionally.

Trial and error

Problem-solving method involving randomly trying solutions until one works, often inefficient.

Algorithm

A rigid formula or procedure for solving a type of problem, ensuring a solution but can be inefficient.

Top-down/deductive reasoning

Starting with general rules and drawing conclusions from given information.

Bottom-up/inductive reasoning

Generalizing and creating a theory from specific observations.

Heuristics/rules of thumb

Simplified principles for quick problem-solving or decision-making, fast but may be inaccurate.

Means–end analysis

Breaking down a problem and solving the most significant issues first.

Working backwards

Starting at the goal and making connections back to the current state, often used in math proofs.

Availability heuristic

Judging the likelihood of an event based on how easily similar examples come to mind.

Representativeness heuristic

Judging the likelihood of an event based on how much it fits the category's stereotypical image.

Base-rate fallacy

Focusing on specific information and neglecting generic information (base rate).

Conjunction fallacy

Believing multiple specific conditions are more likely than one general condition.

Anchoring-and-adjustment

Using an initial anchor and adjusting it slightly to reach a final answer.

Intuition

Acting on perceptions unsupported by evidence, often fast but inaccurate.

Recognition-primed decision model

Process of matching patterns based on experience to make decisions.

Fixation

Being stuck on a wrong approach, requiring insight to recover.

Type I and Type II errors

Type I involves false positives, while Type II involves false negatives in decision-making.

Extrinsic

Getting rewards for desired behavior, avoiding punishment for undesired behavior, etc.

Intrinsic

Interest, enjoyment, etc.

Instinct/Evolutionary Theory

Instincts drive behavior, overridden by experience.

Arousal Theory

Want optimal level of arousal.

Yerkes–Dodson Law

Performance vs. arousal curve is normal (for new/unfamiliar tasks).

Drive-Reduction Theory

Want to resolve tension created by drives.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Physiological > safety > love/belonging > esteem > self-actualization.

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

Need autonomy, competence, relatedness (feeling accepted/wanted).

Incentive Theory

People seek to pursue rewards, avoid punishments.

Expectancy–Value Theory

Motivation toward goal = (expectation of success) + (perceived value of success).

Sexual Response Cycle

Excitement → plateau → orgasm → resolution/refractory period.

Opponent-Process Theory

Chronic drug use → body counteracts drug by changing physiology.

Emotion

Physiological, behavioral, cognitive elements.

James–Lange Theory

Arousal → conscious emotion.

Cannon–Bard Theory

Arousal, conscious emotion simultaneously.

Schachter–Singer/2-Factor Theory

Arousal → cognitive appraisal → conscious emotion.

Lazarus/Cognitive-Appraisal Theory

Cognitive appraisal → arousal, conscious emotion simultaneously.

Limbic System

Motivation, emotion ("HAT Hippo").

Emotional Memory

Stored emotions, unconscious/implicit.

Stress

Cognitive appraisal, stressors, physiological response.

Adaptive Coping

Problem-focused, emotionally focused strategies.

Maladaptive Coping

Stress ↑ or constant, e.g., avoidance, escape.

Self-Concept

Self-schemata + appraisal of past, future selves.