MCAT Psyc/soc

Self-serving bias

Attributes own negative behaviors to external factors while crediting positive behaviors to internal factors.

Actor-observer bias

The tendency to attribute one's own actions to situational factors, while attributing others' actions to their character.

This bias highlights a difference in perspective between actors and observers.

Variable ratio

A schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses. This type of reinforcement leads to high and steady rates of behavior.

Fixed ratio

A schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced after a specific number of responses, leading to a predictable, high rate of behavior but with pauses after reinforcement.

Psychodynamic theory

A psychological perspective that emphasizes the influence of unconscious processes and childhood experiences on behavior and (conscious) mental states.

Diathesis stress model

Explains the development of disorders as a result of the interaction between a pre-existing vulnerability (diathesis) and situational stressors.

Roger’s humanistic theory

Emphasizes the individual's inherent drive towards self-actualization and the importance of unconditional positive regard in personal development.

Beck’s cognitive theory

How negative thought patterns can contribute to emotional disorders, particularly depression and anxiety.

Group polarization

The phenomenon where discussions within a group lead to the adoption of more extreme attitudes or decisions than the individual members initially held.

Stage 1 NREM sleep waves

Theta

Stage 2 NREM sleep waves

Theta waves, k complexes, and sleep spindles

Stages 3 and 4 NREM sleep waves

Delta/slow waves, night terrors, deep sleep, regular breathing

Awake state waves

Alpha waves

Long-term potentiation

Persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity; long-term increase in signal

Neural plasticity

Brain changes and adapts in response to experience, including the strengthening and weakening of neural connections.

Social facilitation

Individuals perform better on tasks when in the presence of others, particularly on simple or well-practiced tasks.

Encoding specificity effect

Retrieval of memories is improved when the context during encoding matches the context at retrieval. This suggests that the cues present during learning can aid in memory recall.

Ex. chewing gum while studying = increased recall on exam when chewing gum

Conservation of mass

Piaget’s concrete operational stage: NO hypothetical reasoning

Locus of control: internal

Own actions influence life events

Locus of control: external

Luck/fate are drivers of external events

Habituation

It’s getting old… decrease in response after repeated presentations of same stimulus.

Latent learning

Learning that occurs without reinforcement but is not immediately reflected in behavior; incidental, unconscious

Reference group

A group that individuals look to for guidance and comparison when forming attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Includes:
- Primary: Family, close friends
- Secondary: Coworkers, classmates
- In-group: “US”, belongs and identifies
- Out-group: “THEM”, does not identify with

Role conflict

Stress felt when confronted with incompatible role expectations across different social statuses they occupy
Ex. working parent trying to balance work and childcare

Role strain

Conflicting expectations within a single role
Ex. Teacher managing crazy kids while implementing a new curriculum

Ethnicity vs race

Ethnicity: culture
Race: physical characteristics

Ethnocentrism

Assumes universal norms to make judgements about other cultures

Cultural relativism

Awareness of differences across cultural norms/values

Symbolic interactionist perspective

How certain individuals/groups face social disapproval when a value is devalued by others.

Anomie

Alienation felt when social norms/bonds are weak

Looking glass shelf

Self concept is based on how you think others perceive you.

Life course approach

Considers how early life experiences affect later outcomes in life

Social capital vs cultural capital

Social: social networks provide resources
Cultural: knowledge, skills, experiences provide resources

Labeling theory

Labels get applied to certain groups/individuals regardless of specific behavior

Demographic transition

Economic changes affect birth/death rates
HIGH birth + death rates —> LOW birth + death rates

Social stratification

Society’s categorization of its people into rankings based on wealth, education…

Ethnographic research design

Observing social interactions in REAL social settings

Cross-sectional study

Observational studies that analyze data from a population at a single point in time.

Foot in the door

Convincing individuals to make a small commitment to increase likelihood of larger commitments

Cognitive dissonance

Own attitudes don’t align with behavior; more likely to adjust attitudes than behavior

Social group

Collection of people with a common identity and regular interaction

Morphine

Endorphin agonist :)

Gender schema vs gender script

Schema: own mental framework of gender roles (can change)
Script: society’s guidelines for each gender-specific norms

Conflict theory

Society is an arena where different groups compete for limited resources and positions in power = conflict

Weber’s law: Just noticeable difference

The smallest detectable difference in a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of original stimulus

Meritocracy

Societal rewards/status/positions are awarded to individuals based on own ability and work (merit).

Everyone needs to have equal opportunity to operate.

Shadowing

Cognitive task used to study selective attention

Left vs right brain

Left: logical, language areas
Right: creative

Intersectionality

Relationship between race/ethnicity and social class
ex. Asian women experience both racism and sexism

Positive correlation

Can go BOTH ways; "Increased inadequate sleep causes hunger" also implies "hunger causes inadequate sleep"

BOTH need to be true.

Reward pathway brain components

VTA, nucleus accumbens, PFC, amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, dorsal raphe, thalamus

Mesolimbic pathway

Reward, motivation, and pleasure

Hippocampus function

Memory, spatial navigation, emotional regulation

Hypothalamus function

Homeostasis regulation: ANS and hormones
Basic drives and motivations

Nucleus accumbens

Reward processing: motivation and action

Ventral tegmental area

Reward, learning, memory, mediates dopamine release

Dorsal raphe function

Reward-seeking behaviors, mood, anxiety, pain, sleep/wake cycles

Amygdala function

FEAR and anxiety processing

Evolutionary perspective of human motivation

What instincts are developed for a human to survive?

Erikson’s theory of development is based on:

conflicts

Erikson: trust vs mistrust

0-1yrs

Erikson: Autonomy vs shame

1-3yrs

Initiative vs guilt

3-6yrs

Industry vs inferiority

6-12yrs

Identity vs role confusion

12-20yrs

Intimacy vs isolation

20-40yrs

Generativity vs stagnation

40-65yrs

Integrity vs despair

65-death

Piaget’s _____ developmental stages

cognitive

Piaget: sensorimotor

0-2yrs

Piaget: Preoperational

2-7yrs; symbolic thought, pretend play

Piaget: concrete operational

7-11yrs

Piaget: post-operational

12+yrs

Kohlberg’s stages of _____ development

moral

Kohlberg: preconventional

3-7yrs: avoid punishment

Kohlberg: conventional

8-13yrs: Good boy, conform to rules

Kohlberg: postconventional

Adult: Law and order, ethics

Gordon Allport

Trait theory: cardinal, central, secondary traits

Interposition

Monocular cue in which one object partially obscures or covers another object

Gives the perception that the partially covered object is further away

Place theory

One is able to hear different pitches because different sound waves trigger activity at different places along the cochlea’s basilar membrane

Periphery of the retina contains

High density of rods for night vision + black/white

Fovea of retina contains

High density of cones for daytime vision + color

Counterbalancing

A method to control for any effect that the order of presenting stimuli might have on the dependent variable.

Explicit memory

A type of long-term memory that involves the conscious, intentional recollection of factual information, previous experiences, and concepts.

Iconic memory

A type of short-term memory for visual information.

Negative priming

Responding to a stimulus that was previously ignored is slower and more error-prone than responding to a new stimulus.
ex. naming the color of a word is slower if the word itself is a different color.

Neuroleptics

Antipsychotic medication, blocks dopamine receptors, major tranquilizer

Relieves positive symptoms, worsen or maintains negative symptoms (cognitive dulling)

Atypical antipsychotics

Second-generation antipsychotics; relieve both positive and negative symptoms

Dual-coding effect

Verbal and visual information are processed differently

Misinformation effect

Retroactive interference- recall of memories becomes less accurate because of additional information following the event.

Spreading activation theory

Storage of memories is related to activation of a series of nodes to create an activation pattern.

Ex. color red and vehicle = firetruck

Behaviorist perspective includes

Classical conditioning- reinforcement and punishment

7 major perspectives of modern psychology

Psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, biological, cross-cultural, evolutionary, humanistic

Interoceptive awareness

Process of sensing and perceiving internal bodily signals

Increases activity of the autonomic nervous system

Reticular activation system

Processing emotion, regulating wakefulness, attention, sleep-wake cycle.

Location of the reticular activating system

Brainstem

Limbic system

Emotion and memory

Limbic system structures

Hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus

Hypothalamus function

Hormonal control, regulates body temp, blood pressure, hunger/thirst, mood, and sex drive

Hippocampus function

Memory (short-term), learning, emotion