MCAT Psych Soc

Optic disc

Portion of the retina where retinal axons project to the optic nerve. It lacks the photoreceptors required to detect light (blindspot)

Sclera

The outer portion of the eye that is made of dense connective tissue

Fovea

The region of the retina with the highest level of visual acuity and has the highest concentration of cones

Lens

The portion of the eye responsible for focusing light onto the retina to ensure sharpness

Social Capital

Who you know to be successful in society (social contacts)

Cultural capital

What you know to be successful in society (education, etiquette)

What is the main focus of conflict theorists?

The inequitable distribution of scarce resources, power, and status

Dependency ratio

Number of economically dependent members of the population to the number of economically productive members (ages under 18 & over 65)

Social gradient in health

The difference in health outcomes by social status

Life course perspective

How early life events influence health outcomes later in life

Conversion disorder

Impairments to voluntary motor or sensory function that are not due to a recognized neurological or medical condition

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to attribute other people’s behavior to internal stable traits rather than situational factors

Social loafing

The tendency for people to put forth less effort when working on a group task will create fewer alternative ideas

Groupthink

The entire group agrees / refuses to act upon things that would threaten the stability of the group

Group polarizaiton

When a group of people with a similar belief is together and the belief becomes more radical

Self-serving bias

The tendency to attribute one’s own successes to internal stable attributes and failures to situational factors

Confirmation bias

The tendency to put more weight on information that confirms one’s pre-existing attitudes

Hindsight bias

The tendency to overestimate one’s ability to predict an outcome after it has already occurred.

Reponse bias

The tendency for research participants to respond inaccurately or falsely to self-report questions

Spreading activation

When thinking about one concept makes it easier to retrieve related concepts

Functionalism perspective

Everything has a function whether it be on purpose (manifest) or by accident (latent)

Impression management

Direct attempts by an individual to control how they are being perceived by others

Hawthorne effect

The tendency for observational research participant behavior to change why they know they are being observed

Self-fulfilling prophecy

The tendency to behave in ways that confirm expectations

Trust vs Mistrust

Ages: 0-1

favorable outcome = trust in the world around us and hope for the future

negative outcome = distrust & fear

Autonomy vs Shame

Age: 1-3

Favorable outcome: sense of self-efficacy

Negative outcome: self-doubt

Initiative vs Guilt

Ages: 3-6

Favorable outcome: sense of purpose and self-motivation

Negative outcome: Guilt & inadequacy

Industry vs Inferiority

Ages: 6-12

Favorable outcome: sense of competence

Negative outcome: sense of inferiority

Identity vs Confusion

Ages: 12-20

Favorable outcome: True sense of self and uniqueness

Negative outcome: Identity confusion

Intimacy vs Isolation

Ages: 20-40

Favorable outcome: Intimate relationships & love

Negative outcome: loneliness

Generatively vs Stagnation

Ages: 40-60

Favorable outcome: Making contributions to society

Negative outcome: Unable to make contributions in a meaningful way

Integrity vs Despair

Ages: 60+

Favorable outcome: Wisdom & integrity

Negative outcome: Dissatisfaction with life’s outcomes

Oral Stage

Ages: 0-1

During this stage the mouth is the pleasure center for development - explanation for sucking reflex

Anal Stage

Ages: 1-3

During this stage people begin to experiment with urine and feces and learn to control bodily functions

Phallic Stage

Ages: 3-6

Take pleasure with their genitals and begin to struggle with sexual desires towards teh oppsoite sex

Latency Stage

Ages: 6-12

Sexual instincts subside and children develop conscience

Genital stage

Ages: 12 +

During this stage, sexual impulses reemerge. If other stages are gone through successfully, this will lead to appropriate sexual behavior and intimate relationships

Kohlberg’s Preconventional stage

Avoiding punishment & seeking rewards

Kholberg’s Conventional stage

Conforming & Follow the rules

Kholberg’s Post Conventional stage

Doing the right thing (even if it’s against the rules) & the universal ethical standard

Reliability

The consistency of an experiment or measure. Produces similar results every time and suggests replicability / reproducibility

Validity

The accuracy of a study or measure - if the results reflect real life

Flashbulb memory

Compelling memories of details associated with emotionally arousing events

Reproductive memory

Information retrieved from long-term memory may not be fully accuate

Prospective memory

The memory for tasks to be completed in the future

Eidetic memory

The ability to recall an image from memory with a high degree of accuracy

Episodic memory

Memory for personally experienced events

Semantic memory

Memory for facts and knowledge

Procedural memory

Memory for motor skills and habits

Iconic memory

Subtype of sensory memory that stores visual info

Somatic symptom disorder

Psychological distressed caused by the experience of physical symptoms

Elaboration Likelihood

A persuasion theory that explains how people process info and change attitudes through 2 main routes: the central route and the peripheral route

Dichotic Listening Task

Different messages are played in both ears simultaneously. The goal is to test selective attention by instructing participants to focus on one ear and to ignore the other.

Shadowing Task

When participants listen to a message and repeat it out loud. The goal is to do a check in the dichotic listening test to make sure the participant is concentrating on the correct audio

MRI

Looks at structural anatomy using highly specialized magnetics to look at lots of details

fMRI

Measures blood flow to certain areas and shows which areas are more active due to an increase of blood flow

CT

Gives structural information and good for quicker checks and overall structure picture

PET scan

Used for measuring localized neural activity and detecting tumors

Social facilitation

An individuals performance improves on a simple or well-practiced task when in the presence of others

Period Effects

Environmental, social, or historical factors that influence all age groups similarly at a specific point in time

5 factor model character traits

1. openness

2. conscientiousness

3. extraversion

4. agreeableness

5. neuroticism

Role Strain

Tension caused by too many demands within a single role

Role conflict

Tension between two or more different roles where fulfilling one makes fulfilling the other difficult

Sensory Interaction

The idea that one sensory modality may influence another

Motion Parallax

A monocular depth cue where while moving closer object appear to move faster than distant objects

Implicit memory

Skills and automatic behaviors

Explicit Memory

Conscious recall of events, info, or facts

Looking glass self theory

An individuals self concept is based on their perception of how other view and judge them

front-stage self

The persona that is put on for society to conform to social norms and expectations

back-stage self

An individual’s “true self” is where they can relax, be uninterrupted, and be private

Cultural lag

The time delay between the rapid transformation of technology and the slow adjustments of society and non-material societal values

Cultural Transmission

The process of passing on cultural knowledge, beliefs, and practices from one generation to the next