mcat evergrowing 🌱

(FL & qbank reviews) im losing my mind :)

sclera

white, outer layer of the eye; responsible for protection and form

ex: Think of them as the security guard at the club who’s always wearing (white) sunglasses, even at night.

fovea

region in the center back of the eye; has a high density of cones

lens

transparent biconvex structure in the eye that (w/ the cornea) helps to refract light; responsible for focusing light onto retina (does not aid in perception of color)

optic disc

where the optic nerve connects to the retina; point of exit for ganglion cell axons leaving the eye; aka blind spot because it lacks photoreceptors (rods & cones) required to detect light

occipital cortex/lobe

lobe of the brain responsible for processing visual information; includes:

• color

• shape

• movement

temporal cortex/lobe

controls hearing and other speech functions; aka responsible for perception of auditory information

somatosensory cortex

processes sensory information experienced throughout the body (touch, pain, and temperature)

motor cortex

controls and executes voluntary movement

fixed ratio

providing the reinforcer after a consistent number of target behaviors; predictable and count-based

ex: for every 5 books you buy, B&N gives u a free sweet treat

variable ratio

providing the reinforcer after varying number of target responses (varies around a predetermined average)

ex: You're posting fire makeup looks on Insta, and randomly, one goes viral and you get a brand deal.

BEST FOR LONG-TERM BEHAVIOR (most resistant to extinction)

fixed interval

provides the reinforcer when the target behavior is performed for the first time after a consistent interval of time has elapsed

ex: Let’s say your crush only texts you every Saturday at 7 PM.
It doesn’t matter how many cute memes you send during the week — he ONLY responds if you text after 7 PM on Saturday.

variable interval

provides the reinforcer when the target behavior is performed for the first time after a varying interval of time has elapsed

ex: You're obsessed with a cozy little indie bookstore that sends surprise discount codes by email.
Sometimes they send it the next day, sometimes a week later, sometimes two days—you never know when it’s coming.

So what do you do?
You start checking your email randomly all day like:
“Is today the day I get 25% off and treat myself to another fantasy romance? 👀”

social status

one’s standing in the community and his/her position in social hierarchy

ex: regina george > cady heron; in other words, regina has high social status (power & influence to watch the world burn) whereas cady isn’t really popular initially

roles

a set of rules or norms that function as plans or blueprints to guide behavior within a particular society

ex: percy jackson = chosen one; brave leader of the group

social capital

includes the advantages conferred by one’s social network (aka access to professional opportunities and insider knowledge)

ex: Never Been Kissed

• Josie Geller is the new girl undercover in high school.

• At first, she’s low-key invisible — no social capital.

• But as she starts to make friends, gain trust, and join the popular crowd, her ____ _____ grows.

• Suddenly, she has connections that help her navigate the school’s social scene, score invites, and get inside info.

cultural capital

accumulation of knowledge, behaviors, and skills that a person can tap into to demonstrate one’s cultural competence and social status

ex: The Devil Wears Prada

• Andy Sachs starts as a normal girl with little “fashion knowledge” or insider style.

• Miranda Priestly and her crew? Total cultural capital bosses:

  • They know every fashion trend, designer, and industry secret.

  • Their style, vocabulary, and attitude give them serious social power in the fashion world.

• As Andy learns the ropes, she gains ____ _______ — and suddenly she fits in with the elite fashion crowd.

cultural values

include defined standards that serve as broad guidelines for social living

norms

rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members

material culture

relationship between artifacts and social relations

symbolic culture

ideas, beliefs, values, or norms that shape a society

conflict theory

sociological perspective that studies society by focusing on inequality between different groups and sees social life as a competition/focuses on distribution of resources and power between these groups

dependency ratio

the number of people who can’t work (economically dependent) compared to the number of people who can work (economically productive) and support them.

social gradient in health

difference in health outcomes by social status

life course perspective

views aging as changes in social, psychological, and biological processes w/ time

intersectionality

refers to how all individuals have multiple aspects of identity and different social backgrounds, therefore producing differential outcomes for an individual

linguistic relativity hypothesis

states that the structure of a language influences the way its speakers conceptualize the world

source-monitoring error

memory error in which the source of a memory is incorrectly attributed to some specific recollected experience

conversion disorder

involves having symptoms that cannot be supported by medical evaluation

schizophrenia

disorder of psychosis in which the person’s thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors are out of contact with reality

retrograde amnesia

inability to retrieve old memories; refers to memories that occur prior to a specific point in time

dissociative disorder

involve pathological separation form conscious awareness and range from mild to extreme; cannot recall important autobiographical information, usually related to a trauma or stressor

classical conditioning

involves learning in which the stimulus or experience occurs before the behavior, and then gets paired or associated with the behavior

operant conditioning

focuses on changes in an individual’s observable behaviors; new or continued behaviors are impacted by new or continued consequences → influence behavior as a result.

• positive reinforcers add wanted/pleasant stimulus to increase or maintain frequency of behavior

latent learning

learning that takes place in the absence of reinforcement or punishment; not directly relevant to reward-seeking motivation

meritocracy

ideal system based on belief that social stratification is the result of personal effort/merit that determines social standing

ex: in Utopia, those who were in the acceptable class were awarded certain privileges based on their academic performance

socialization

process by which the new gen learns the knowledge, attitudes, and values that they will need as productive citizens

ex: the “flaw club” acted as an agent of socialization (in utopia) to take down Tamara’s rule

social identity

involves an individual’s self-concept derived from perceived membership in a social group

absolute poverty

measure of poverty based on a set standard that is consistent over time and between countries, referring to the ability of individuals or groups to meet their basic needs

marginal poverty

involves lacking stable employment & cannot achieve minimum standards of living

relative poverty

refers to social disadvantage by income or wealth as compared to social advantages linked to income or wealth in society (wealth vs median income)

structural poverty

related to lack of economic opportunities for individuals to leave poverty

socioeconomic gradient in health

wealthy people are found to live longer on ave than middle-class people; middle class people live longer than poor people

fundamental attribution error

tendency to over-value internal (personality-based) explanations and under-value external (situational) explanations for another person’s behavior

dissonance

when a person experiences conflict in the their cognitions; strongest when a discrepency has been noticed between one’s self-concept and one’s behavior

modeling

aka observational learning; occurs from watching, retaining and replicating a behavior observed from a model

schemas

Jean Piaget; interpretation and understanding of world → is a mental representation. as we encounter things in our environment, we develop additional schemas

ABCs of attitude

• affective

• behavioral

• cognitive

affective

(part of ABCs of attitude) and deals with feelings

behavioral

(part of ABCs of attitude) and deals with the effect of the attitude on behavior

cognitive

(part of ABCs of attitude) and deals with beliefs, ideas, and knowledge

subconscious

occurs beyond conscious awareness and CANNOT be captured by a measure of explicit attitude

selection bias

occurs when the participants in the study differ from the general population; negatively impacts results of a study

social desirability

participants reporting answers that are more socially acceptable; done to make themselves look better

stereotype threat

experience of anxiety or concern in a situation where a person has the potential to confirm a negative stereotype about their social group

primary group

small social group whose members share close, personal, enduring relationships (i.e. family and close friends)

secondary groups

large groups whose relationships are impersonal and goal-oriented; temporary

in-group

social groups to which an individual feels he or she belongs

out-group

individual who doesn’t identify w/ particular group is considered ______.

front-stage

encompasses behavior a player performs in front of an audience

backstage self

employed when players are together, but no audience is present

impression management

process of consciously making behavioral choices in order to create a specific impression in the minds of others

ex: “dont be weird, lissa”

dispositional

focus on stable, internal traits such as personality

situational explanations of behaviors

emphasize environmental factors which surround the individual

habituation

diminishing of a physiological or emotional response to a frequently repeated stimulus

tolerance

decreased effectiveness of the substance after prolonged use

withdrawal

involves the effects of either reducing or quitting the use of a substance; can be physiological or behavioral

craving

powerful desire to ingest a substance

stimulants

increase the activity of the nervous system; used medically to boost endurance and counteract fatigue (ex. caffeine); individuals use and chase the feeling of facilitating the activity of neurotransmitters

hallucinogens

alter sensory input to the brain, therefore can alter perception of reality; relatively low risk of dependence

alcohol

depressant/sedative on CNS; person can become physically dependent

sedatives

slow down brain activity; relaxing feeling = addictive and cause dependence (also impacts CNS)

stratification

involves a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy (socioeconomic, morals, etc)

racialization

process where a majority group in society ascribes a behavior or characteristic to a minority group that they do not identify with themselves

gentrification

occurs when members of the middle and upper classes enter and renovate city areas that have been historically less affluent while poor urban underclass is forced by resulting price pressures to leave those neighborhoods (= displacement)

dopamine

neurotransmitter involved in reward and pleasure, motivation, focus & learning, and movement

euphoria

intense feeling of pleasure, happiness, or excitement = dopamine high

confounding variable

variable that can influence the results but is not considered

social loafing

people are more productive alone than in a group; individuals are less critical and less creative in groups

groupthink

members of group prioritize agreement over critical thinking when coming to a decision

concrete operational stage

Piaget; 7-11 years → concrete thought and logical reasoning

sensorimotor stage

Piaget; 0-2 years → involves coordinate of senses w/ motor responses and lacking object perminence

preoperational stage

Piaget; 2-7 years → children start to talk and use symbolic thinking

formal operational

Piaget; 12+ → acquiring abstract reasoning skills

thalamus

functions to relay motor and sensory signals to the cerebral cortex

cerebellum

located underneath the backside of the cerebrum (occipital lobe) and governs balance and fine motor movements; functions to maintain coordination throughout the body

amygdala

seat of emotions; located in medial temporal lobe

medulla oblongata

responsible for autonomic functions

trust vs mistrust

Erikson; birth to 12 months

competence vs inferiority

Erikson; 6-12 yrs

autonomy vs shame & doubt

Erikson; 1-3 yrs

initiative vs guilt

Erikson; 3-6 yrs

oral stage

0-1 yrs; mouth is pleasure center for development → freud believed this is why infants are born w/ sucking reflex

fixation: smoking, gum-chewing, nail-biting, overeating

anal stage

1-3 yr; bowel/bladder control

fixation:

anal-retentive: super neat, stubborn, perfectionist

anal-expulsive: messy, disorganized, rebellious

phallic stage

3-6; genitals (esp w/ gender identity and power dynamics)

• Oedipus/Electra complex: unconscious desires and conflicts related to parents

  • oedipus: boy’s attraction to mother

  • electra: girl’s attraction to father (developed by Carl Jung)

fixations: vain, jealous, or struggle with identity & authority

latency stage

6-12 yrs; nothing sexual, goal is to develop social skills, friendships, hobbies, etc

fixations: n/a → problems could mean being social awk or emotionally distant

genital stage

12+; focus on genitals and forming mature romantic relationships & balancing life

fixation: intimacy issues (if older stages weren’t resolved)

self-serving bias

tendency of individuals to make internal attributions when their actions have a positive outcome but external attributions when their actions has a negative outcome (ie. situational variables)

confirmation bias

a person tends to look for information that supports their idea or approach instead of looking at new information that may contract their approach or ideas

hindsight bias

belief that the event just experienced was predictable

response bias

involves responding inaccurately or falsely to self-report questions