MCAT Behavioral Sciences Review Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the psychology, sociology, and biological basis of behavior modules from the MCAT Behavioral Sciences transcript.

Retinal disparity

A binocular cue providing humans with a sense of depth based on the fact that eyes are approximately $2.5\,\text{inches}$ apart, resulting in slightly different views of the world.

Convergence

A binocular cue for depth based on the extent to which the eye muscles contract or relax when looking at objects; eyes are relaxed for far objects and contract for close objects.

Relative local

A monocular cue where objects perceived as being higher in the visual field are interpreted as being farther away.

Motion parallax

A monocular cue also known as "relative motion," where objects that are farther away appear to move slower while closer objects appear to move faster.

Sensory adaptation

The process by which our senses change their sensitivity to constant stimuli, such as the contraction of the inner ear muscle to dampen loud vibrations.

Weber’s Law

The principle stating that the ratio of the increment threshold to the background intensity is constant ($\frac{\Delta I}{I} = k$).

Absolute threshold of sensation

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

Somatosensation

The collection of sensory categories including temperature (thermoception), pressure (mechanoception), pain (nociception), and position (proprioception).

Otolithic organs

The utricle and saccule of the inner ear that contain calcium carbonate ($CaCO_3$) crystals to help detect linear acceleration and head positioning.

Signal Detection Theory

A framework used to look at how decisions are made under conditions of uncertainty, involving the discernment between important stimuli and unimportant "noise."

Bottom-up Processing

Data-driven inductive reasoning that begins with the stimulus and influences what is perceived without preconceived cognitive constructs.

Pragnanz

A Gestalt principle stating that reality is organized and reduced to the simplest form possible (e.g., seeing five circles instead of complex overlapping shapes in the Olympic rings).

Cornea

The transparent thick sheet of fibrous tissue covering the anterior $1/6\text{th}$ of the eye that first begins to bend light.

Fovea

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

Phototransduction cascade

The series of molecular steps that occurs when light hits a rod or cone, resulting in the cell turning from "ON" to "OFF" to send a neural impulse to the brain.

Parvocellular pathway

A visual processing pathway specialized for high spatial resolution (boundaries and shape) and color, but possessing poor temporal resolution.

Place theory

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

Basilar tuning

The arrangement of hair cells in the cochlea such that high frequency sounds ($1600\,\text{Hz}$) activate the base and low frequency sounds ($25\,\text{Hz}$) activate the apex.

Proprioception

The cognitive, often subconscious, awareness of one's body in space, mediated by sensors called spindles in the muscles.

Gate control theory of pain

The assertion that non-painful input can "close the gates" to painful input, preventing pain sensations from traveling to the central nervous system.

Pheromones

Chemical signals released by one member of a species and sensed by another to trigger an innate response, such as mating or fighting.

Vomeronasal system

A structure within the accessory olfactory epithelium of animals that contains basal and apical cells for sensing pheromones.

Cribriform plate

A bone with small holes that separates the olfactory epithelium from the brain, allowing olfactory sensory projections to reach the olfactory bulb.

Glomerulus

A designation point in the olfactory bulb where various sensory olfactory cells sensitive to the same molecule (such as benzene) synapse.

Anosmia

The inability to perceive odor.

Fungiform papillae

Mushroom-shaped structures located on the tip and sides of the tongue that contain taste buds.

Gustducin

A protein associated specifically with the sensation of taste.

Theta waves

Brain waves oscillating at $4\text{-}7\,\text{Hz}$ associated with drowsiness, the period right after falling asleep, or light sleep.

K-complexes

Sleep features seen in Stage 2 (N2) sleep that suppress cortical arousal to keep the person asleep and assist in memory consolidation.

Circadian Rhythms

Regular body rhythms across a $24\text{-hour}$ period controlled by melatonin produced in the pineal gland.

Activation Synthesis Hypothesis

The theory that dreams occur because the brain is simply trying to find meaning from random brain activity originating in the brainstem.

Sleep apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by the cessation of breathing during sleep, often resulting in a lack of N3 (Stage 3) slow-wave sleep.

Benzodiazepines

The most commonly prescribed suppressants that enhance the brain's response to GABA by opening $Cl^-$ channels, making neurons more negatively charged.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter produced in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra that is central to the brain's reward pathway.

Tolerance

A shift in the dose-response curve where a person needs more of a drug to achieve the same effect because the brain has shut down some receptors.

Post-Acute Withdrawal Symptoms (PAWS)

A rollercoaster of emotional and psychological symptoms (such as mood swings and irritability) that typically starts after acute withdrawal and can last for $2\,\text{years}$.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

A psychological treatment where patients learn to recognize problematic thought patterns and develop positive coping behaviors, often used in drug addiction treatment.

In-attentional blindness

Also called perceptual blindness, this is the inability to recognize an unexpected object or stimulus that is in plain sight when attention is directed elsewhere.

Broadbent’s Early Selection Theory

A theory of attention where all environmental information passes through a sensory register to a selective filter, which immediately removes unattended information based on physical characteristics.

Echoic memory

A component of sensory memory for auditory input that lasts for $3\text{-}4\,\text{seconds}$.

Working memory

Short-term memory that can hold $7 \pm 2$ pieces of information at a time, processed through the visuo-spatial sketchpad and phonological loop.

Method of loci

A mnemonic technique involving the visual placement of objects to be remembered along a familiar route or location.

Implicit Memory

Non-declarative long-term memory where previous experiences aid task performance without conscious awareness, such as procedural memories or conditioning.

Long-term potentiation

The mechanism of learning where repeated stimulation results in a stronger response in the postsynaptic neuron, strengthening the synapse.

Retroactive interference

A memory phenomenon where new learning impairs the ability to recall old information, such as a new address making it hard to remember an old one.

Crystallized IQ

The ability to use accumulated knowledge and experience, which typically improves or remains stable in older adults.

Korsakoff’s Syndrome

A memory disorder caused by a lack of vitamin B1 or thiamine, often linked to alcoholism, malnutrition, or eating disorders.

Object permanence

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

Assimilation

The process of describing new information or experiences in terms of current schemas ("same schema").

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that allow for quicker problem solving by reducing the number of total solutions to be tried.

Conjunction fallacy

A cognitive error where people assume that the co-occurrence of two instances is more likely than a single one (e.g., assuming someone is more likely to be a "feminist bank teller" than just a "bank teller").

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to reason quickly and abstractly and solve novel logic problems independent of previous experience.

Aphasia

A communication disorder involving problems with speaking, listening, reading, or writing, often caused by damage to Broca's or Wernicke's areas.

Arcuate fasciculus

A bundle of nerve fibers that connects Broca's area and Wernicke's area; damage to it causes conduction aphasia.

Linguistic Determinism

The hypothesis that language has an influence on or completely determines thought (strong version known as Sapir-Whorfian hypothesis).

Language acquisition device (LAD)

A theoretical innate mechanism proposed by Noam Chomsky that allows children to learn language and understand universal grammar.

Limbic System

A set of brain structures (including the Hypothalamus, Amygdala, Thalamus, and Hippocampus) involved in regulating emotion and memory.

Universal emotions

The six emotions identified by Paul Ekman that are consistent across all cultures: happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise.

James-Lange theory

The theory of emotion stating that the experience of emotion is due to the perception of physiological responses (Event → Physiological Response → Interpretation → Emotion).

Yerkes-Dodson Law

The principle that people perform best when they are moderately aroused, represented by a bell-shaped curve.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Hans Selye's three-phase model of the stress response: Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion.

Anhedonia

The inability to experience pleasure, often seen as a behavioral symptom of stress or depression.

Lower motor neuron signs

Physical signs of LMN abnormalities including atrophy, fasciculations (twitches), hypotonia, and hyporeflexia.

Substantia nigra

A midbrain structure in the basal ganglia that projects dopaminergic neurons to the striatum; its degeneration is the biological basis of Parkinson’s disease.

Prodrome

A period of time before schizophrenia where symptoms are not yet fully present but functioning begins to deteriorate.

Normative influence

When an individual conforms to a group's actions to avoid social rejection, even if they know the actions are wrong.

Groupthink

A phenomenon where maintaining harmony in a cohesive group becomes more important than critical analysis, often leading to poor decision making.

Foot in the door phenomenon

The tendency for people to agree to small actions first and then eventually comply with much larger requests over time.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to over-attribute others' behaviors to internal, dispositional factors rather than considering complex external/situational causes.

Self-serving bias

A mechanism for preserving self-esteem where successes are attributed to internal qualities and failures to external factors, common in individualistic cultures.

Stereotype threat

The self-fulfilling fear that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype, which can actually cause a decrease in performance.

Social Stigma

Extreme disapproval or discrediting of an individual by society, often associated with attributes like mental illness or obesity.

Halo effect

The tendency to perceive individuals as having inherently good natures based on an overall positive first impression or high physical attractiveness.

Just World Hypothesis

The belief that the universe is fair and that people get what they deserve: good things happen to good people and bad things to bad people.

Cultural relativism

The practice of assessing and understanding a culture by its own standards rather than through the lens of one's own culture.

Mere exposure effect

The psychological phenomenon where repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases the likelihood of liking them.

Secondary attachment

A pattern identified in Mary Ainsworth’s experiments where infants cling to the mother, become highly distressed when she leaves, and remain distressed upon her return.

Inclusive fitness

A scale of fitness that accounts for the number of offspring an animal has, how they support them, and how the offspring support each other to propagate shared genes.

Iron rule of oligarchy

The concept that even the most democratic organizations tend to become more bureaucratic over time until they are governed by a select few elite members.

McDonaldization

The process by which the principles of the fast-food industry (efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control) come to dominate other sectors of society.

World-Systems Theory

A globalization theory that divides the world into core countries (independent, industrialized), periphery (dependent, weak governments), and semi-periphery (middle ground).

Relative Deprivation Theory

A theory of social movements stating that groups band together to change society when they feel a discrepancy between legitimate expectations and the reality of the present.

Culture lag

The social problem where non-material culture (ideas/beliefs) takes time to catch up with rapid technological innovations in material culture.

Gatekeeping

The process by which a small number of people and corporations control what information is presented in the mass media.

Intersectionality

A sociologic theory calling attention to how various identity categories (like race, class, and gender) intersect within systems of social stratification.

Stroop effect

A demonstration of interference in reaction time where naming the color of a word is slower and more error-prone if the word itself names a different color.