MCAT Behavioral sciences

Behavioral sciences

Implicit personality theory

a theory that states that people tend to associate traits and behaviors in others, and that people have the tendency to attribute their own beliefs, opinions and ideas onto others

Halo effect

a cognitive bias in which judgements of an individual’s character can be affected by the overall impression of the individual.

Fundamental attribution error

the general bias toward making dispositional attributions rather than situational attributions when analyzing another person’s behavior

inclusive fitness

a measure of reproductive success; depends on the number of offspring an individual has, how well they support their offspring, and how well their offspring can support others

Self-disclosure

an aspect of interpersonal attraction or impression management in which one shares his or her fears, thoughts, and goals with another person in the hopes of being met with empathy and nonjudgment

Cultural relativism

the recognition that social groups and cultures must be studied on their own terms to be understood

Correspondent inference theory

a theory that states that people pay closer attention to intentional behavior than accidental behavior when making attributions, especially if the behavior is unexpected

Attribute substitution

A phenomenon observed when individuals must make judgments that are complex but instead substitute a simpler solution or perception

Altruism

a form of helping behavior in which the intent is to benefit someone else at a cost to oneself

Nonmaleficence

The ethical tenet that a physician has responsibility to avoid interventions in which the potential for harm outweighs the potential for benefit

situational attributions

assign the cause of a person’s action to external factors

Dispositional attributions

assign the cause of person’s action to internal factors

Positive results

are more likely to attributed to disposition (internal) factors

negative results

are more likely to be attributed to situational (external) factors

Major depressive disorder

contains at least one major depressive episode

Persistent depressive disorder (dysmythia)

the presence of depressive symptoms for at least two years that do not meet criteria for major depressive disorder

Cyclothymic disorder

describes periods of manic depressive symptoms that are not severe enough to be labeled an episode. These symptoms must persist for at least 2 years and be present the majority of the time

selective mutism

disorder is the impairment of speech in situations where speaking is expected

Agoraphobia

is a fear of places or situations where it is hard for an individual to escape

Somatic symptom disorder

involves at least one somatic symptom , which may or may not be linked to an underlying medical condition, that causes disproportionate concern

Schizotypal PD

involves ideas of reference, magical thinking, and eccentricity

Histrionic PD

involves constant attention-seeking behavior

Avoidant PD

involves extreme shyness and fear of rejection