MCAT Behavioral Sciences Review

Comprehensive practice vocabulary flashcards covering the major concepts of the MCAT Behavioral Sciences section including sensory perception, psychology, and sociology.

Binocular Cues

Visual cues that depend on the use of two eyes, specifically providing a sense of depth through retinal disparity and convergence.

Retinal Disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, which are approximately $2.5\,inches$ apart, the brain computes distance.

Weber’s Law

The principle that the just noticeable difference (JND) is directly proportional to the initial intensity of the stimulus, expressed as $\frac{\Delta I}{I} = k$.

Absolute Threshold of Sensation

The minimum intensity of a stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus $50\%$ of the time.

Otolithic Organs

The utricle and saccule within the vestibular system that detect linear acceleration and head positioning using Calcium Carbonate ($CaCO_3$) crystals.

Signal Detection Theory

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise), involving variables like signal strength ($d'$) and strategy ($c$).

Bottom-Up Processing

Perception that begins with the stimulus and is data-driven; it involves inductive reasoning and is always correct as it lacks preconceived cognitive constructs.

Gestalt Principle of Pragnanz

The law stating that reality is organized and reduced by the brain to the simplest form possible (e.g., seeing the Olympic rings as five circles rather than complex shapes).

Fovea

A special part of the macula in the retina that is completely covered in cones and contains no rods, responsible for high-detail visual perception.

Phototransduction Cascade

The process by which light is converted into a neural impulse by turning a rod cell from an "on" state to an "off" state.

Parvocellular Pathway

A visual pathway specialized for high spatial resolution (boundaries and shape) and color, but possessing poor temporal resolution (cannot detect motion).

Place Theory

A theory of hearing which states that our perception of sound depends on where each component frequency produces vibrations along the basilar membrane.

Basilar Tuning

The process by which the brain differentiates frequencies based on which hair cells are activated in the cochlea; high frequencies activate cells at the base, and low frequencies activate the apex.

Somatosensory Homunculus

A topological map of the entire body within the sensory cortex of the parietal lobe.

Proprioception

The cognitive, subconscious sense of the position of the body in space, relying on receptors called spindles in the muscles.

Gate Control Theory of Pain

A theory asserting that non-painful input closes the "gates" to painful input, preventing pain sensation from traveling to the central nervous system.

Vomeronasal System

A structure within the accessory olfactory epithelium in animals that detects pheromones and sends projections to the amygdala.

Beta Waves

EEG brain waves oscillating at $12-30\,Hz$, associated with states of being awake, concentrated, or experiencing increased stress and anxiety.

REM Sleep

A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movement and muscle paralysis, where the brain is active (paradoxical sleep) and most dreaming and memory consolidation occur.

Activation Synthesis Hypothesis

A dream theory suggesting that the brainstem provides neural impulses (activation) which the frontal cortex then tries to interpret (synthesis), meaning dreams may have no inherent meaning.

Benzodiazepines

A class of depressant drugs that enhance the brain's response to GABA by opening GABA-activated chloride ($Cl^-$) channels, causing neurons to become more negatively charged.

Mesolimbic Pathway

The primary reward pathway in the brain involving the VTA, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and hippocampus, which primarily uses the neurotransmitter dopamine.

In-attentional Blindness

The inability to recognize an unexpected object or stimulus that is in plain sight due to a psychological lapse in attention rather than a sensory deficit.

Phonological Loop

The component of working memory that processes verbal information, including words and numbers from both iconic and echoic memory.

Method of Loci

A mnemonic device that involves associating information to be remembered with specific physical locations along a familiar route.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

An example of synaptic plasticity where repeated stimulation of a pre-synaptic neuron leads to a stronger post-synaptic potential, forming the physiological basis for learning.

Retroactive Interference

A phenomenon where new learning impairs the ability to retrieve old information (e.g., a new address making it hard to remember an old one).

Korsakoff’s Syndrome

A memory disorder caused by a deficiency in Vitamin B1 (thiamine), often linked to alcoholism, malnutrition, or eating disorders, and characterized by severe memory loss and confabulation.

Object Permanence

The awareness that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, a milestone developed during Piaget's sensorimotor stage ($0-2\,years$).

Availability Heuristic

A mental shortcut where decision-making is based on how easily examples or instances come to mind, which may not reflect real-world probabilities.

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to reason quickly and abstractly and solve novel logic problems, which tends to decrease in older adulthood.

Broca’s Aphasia

A communication disorder characterized by broken or halted speech production due to damage in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere.

Sapir-Whorfian Hypothesis

Also known as strong linguistic determinism, the theory that language completely determines thought and shapes how we experience the world.

Kluver-Bucy Syndrome

A condition resulting from bilateral destruction of the amygdala, characterized by hyperorality, hypersexuality, and disinhibited behavior.

James-Lange Theory

The theory that the experience of emotion is the result of the perception of physiological responses (Event -> Physiological Response -> Interpretation -> Emotion).

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Hans Selye's model of the body's stress response consisting of three phases: Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion.

Social Anomie

A state of society characterized by the breakdown of social bonds between an individual and the community, leading to a weakened sense of morality.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute personal successes to internal factors and failures to external/situational factors to preserve self-esteem.

Dramaturgical Approach

Erving Goffman's theory that uses the metaphor of theater to understand social interaction, involving concepts of front stage self, back stage self, and impression management.

Functionalism

A macrosociological perspective based on the ideas of Emile Durkheim that views society as a system of interdependent parts working together to maintain stability and equilibrium.

Functionalism

A sociological theory that views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote stability and solidarity.

Conflict Theory

A sociological perspective arguing that society is in a state of perpetual conflict due to competition for limited resources.

Symbolic Interactionism

A theory focusing on how individuals and groups interact and define their social reality through subjective meanings.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process where a previously neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, eliciting a conditioned response.

Operant Conditioning

A method of learning that relies on rewards and punishments to shape behavior.

Conformity

The act of aligning attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those of a group.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overemphasize personal traits when explaining others' behavior, while minimizing situational influences.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute positive outcomes to one’s own character and negative outcomes to external factors.