MCAT review Behavioral sciences

Paul Broca

discovered area in the brain (named for him) in the left frontal lobe responsible for language production

incongruence

gap between actual self and ideal self

hindsight bias

tendency for a person to overestimate how well he or she could have successfully predicted a known outcome

observer bias

bias on the part of the observers recording the data could have contaminated the original results

social exchange theory

need to know the value of the benefit as well as negative costs of choosing a social association

transference

unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another

individual agency

capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices

latent inhibition

familiar stimulus takes longer to acquire new meaning than new stimulus

automatic processing

generally occurs outside of conscious awareness and is common when undertaking familiar and highly practiced tasks.

short term memory capacity

7 ± 2 items

elaboration likelihood model

attitudes are formed and changed through different routes of informational processing based on the degree of deep thought given to persuasive information

splitting

symptom of BPD

view those whom they see as kind to them as good and those who are not kind to them as bad

repression

unconsciously removing an idea or feeling from consciousness

functional analysis

analyzing functions from both an engineering and societal point of view

suppression

consciously removing an idea or feeling from consciousness as a healthy defense mechanism

strain theory

emphasizes how people who are not able to pursue legitimate goals may turn to illegitimate means to pursue their goals

differential association theory

people learn to become deviant when they regularly interact with people who perceive deviant acts as normal

Yerkes-Dodson law

increasing interest increases arousal, which enhances performance

social reproduction

tendency of individuals to belong to same social class as their parents

horizontal mobility

change in occupation or lifestyle by an individual that keeps that individual within the same social class

semantic memory

type of explicit memory

involves the recollection of facts, ideas, or concepts that a person knows, but are not tied to a specific life experience of event

episodic memory

memory of everyday events (such as times, location geography, associated emotions, and other contextual information) that can be explicitly stated or conjured

autobiographical

social exchange theory

analyzes social interactions in the context of rewards and punishments

conscientiousness

self-disciplined and strive for achievement and competence

agreeableness

tendency to be compassionate to others and trust other people

neuroticism

frequent unpleasant emotions

positive correlation with anxiety and frequent conflicts with other people

openness

tendency to enjoy new intellectual experiences and ideas

extraversion

tendency and intensity to which someone seeks interaction with their environment, particularly socially.

Perceptual organization

complete picture or idea by combining top-down and bottom-up processing w/ other sensory clues

self-serving bias

attribute success to dispositional attributions

attribute failures to the situation

case control study

divide participants into groups of cases and controls, and then going back in time to see differences in exposure

cohort study

dividing participants into two groups based on exposure and then tracking how those groups developed a disease

inclusive fitness theory

number of offspring and ability to protect and raise its offspring to reproduce

• used to explain altruistic behavior

Demographic transition theory

Stage I: preindustrial society; birth and death rates high

Stage II: economic progress and social improvements; high birth rates and declining death rates

Stage III: shift from agricultural to industrial economy; birth rates drop

Stage IV: industrialized society; birth and death rates low

Stave V: declining population; death rate higher than birth rate

Game Theory

focuses on rational behavior of interacting people

People are rational beings who act according to their self-interest

social constructionism

facets of social reality—such as concepts, beliefs, norms, and values—are formed through continuous interactions and negotiations

belief perseverance

when presented with information of varying opinion, people are more likely to believe information that confirms their opinion

strengthens already held beliefs

control theory

inner controls and outer controls—work against our tendencies to deviate

decentralized control - market pressures

centralized control - bureaucracy

observational learning

people learn prejudicial attitudes from others in their environment while growing up

anomie

condition wherein an individual may experience a sense of normlessness

• may engage in deviant behavior

• breakdown of social bonds b/w an individual and society

inductive reasoning

drawing a conclusion from specific to general

disconfirmation principle

accepting evidence supporting beliefs while rejecting evidence refuting them

identification

when someone outwardly accepts the ideas of others even if they don’t believe them

internalization

changing one’s behavior to fit with the group while also privately agreeing with the ideas of the group

fundamental attribution error

judging the behavior of others in terms of personal characteristics rather than taking the specific situation into account

humanistic perspective

centered on the use of free will and how to best apply it

self-actualization; helping patients become more complete and fulfilled individuals

behaviorist perspective

only concerned with observable stimulus-response behaviors, as they can be studied in a systematic and observable manner.

social cognitive perspective

portions of an individual's knowledge acquisition can be directly related to observing others within the context of social interactions, experiences, and outside media influences

conflict theory

tensions arising because of inequality or competition b/w limited resources

paternalism

people with authority or high status have better information and more right to make decisions than other people

cultural capital

any non-financial asset that helps improve an individual’s position/status in society

Pierre Flourens

extirpation/ablation; concluded that different brain regions have specific functions by removing pieces of brain

Franz Gall

phrenology; associated development of a trait with growth of its relevant part of the brain

Sir Charles Sherrington

first inferred the existence of synapses

right hemisphere of brain

creativity, spatial ability, context/perception, face, places, and objects

left hemisphere of brain

speed and language, analysis, time and sequencing

Catecholamines include

epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine

William James

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

fMRI

a form of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain that registers blood flow to currently functioning areas of the brain

multiple sclerosis

A chronic disease of the central nervous system marked by damage to the myelin sheath. Plaques occur in the brain and spinal cord causing tremor, weakness, incoordination, paresthesia, and disturbances in vision and speech

John Dewey

believed psychology should focus on the study of the organism as a whole and criticized breaking reflexes into parts

Hermann von Helmholtz

measured speed of a nerve impulse and made psychology a natural science

meninges

dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater

limbic system

emotion and memory (aggression, fear, pleasure, pain)
includes septal nuclei, amygdala, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate cortex

basal ganglia

movement

reticular formation

arousal and alertness

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Graphical record of brain-wave activity obtained through electrodes placed on the scalp and forehead

rCBF

detect blood flow to parts of the brain; patient inhales harmless radioactive gas

CT scans

many cross-sectional X-ray scans

PET scans

radioactive sugar is injected; uptake throughout target tissue is imaged

MRI

magnetic field interacts w/ H atoms to map out hydrogen dense regions of body

lateral hypothalamus (LH)

Lacks Hunger when removed

VentroMedial Hypothalamus (VMH)

Very Much Hungry when destroyed

Anterior Hypothalamus (AH)

Amplifies Horniness

Parkinson's disease

destruction of portions of basal ganglia

extrapyramidal system

info about body position
associated w/ basal ganglia

septal nuclei

pleasure center

amygdala

fear and rage

hippocampus

- learning and memory
- long term memory consolidation

fornix

how hippocampus talks with rest of limbic system

anterior cingulate cortex

higher cognitive processes
- impulse control and decision-making

gyri

elevated bumps

sulci

grooves

prefrontal cortex

executive function

primary motor cortex

located on precentral gyrus and in front of the central sulcus

somatosensory cortex

located on the postcentral gyrus

Wernicke's area

language reception and comprehension connected to Broca's area by arcuate fasciculus

agonist

drug that mimics neurotransmitter

antagonist

blocks neurotransmitters

catecholamines, monoamines, biogenic amines

epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin

inhibitory neurotransmitters

GABA, glycine

excitatory neurotransmitter

glutamate

hypophyseal portal system

blood travels from the hypothalamus to the anterior pituitary

adrenal medulla

releases epinephrine and norepinephrine

adrenal cortex

releases corticosteroids, testosterone, and estrogen

dopamine

smooth movement and posture

neuralation

ectoderm furrows to form neural groove