AAMC 2 - Psych/Soc

Question 1

What is the social gradient in health?

Answer 1

This refers to how wealthy people are found to live longer on average than middle-class people, and middle-class people live longer than poor people.

Question 2

_________ is a part of the retrieval process that involves determining the origin of memories, and whether they are factual (real and accurate) or fictional (from a dream, novel, or movie).

Answer 2

Source monitoring is a part of the retrieval process that involves determining the origin of memories, and whether they are factual (real and accurate) or fictional (from a dream, novel, or movie).

Question 3

The inability to remember where, when, or how one has obtained knowledge is called _________.

Answer 3

The inability to remember where, when, or how one has obtained knowledge is called source amnesia.

Question 4

What is a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease that relates to the late afternoon/evening?

Answer 4

One common phenomenon that occurs in individuals with middle- to late-stage Alzheimer’s is sundowning, an increase in dysfunction in the late afternoon and evening.

Alzheimer’s is also characterized by decreased acetylcholine production in the hippocampus, b-amyloid plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles.

Question 5

Define:

Agnosia

Answer 5

Agnosia is the loss of the ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds, though usually only one of the three. Agnosia is usually caused by physical damage to the brain, such as that caused by a stroke or a neurological disorder such as multiple sclerosis.

Question 6

Describe Korsakoff Syndrome

Answer 6

Korsakoff’s syndrome is another form of memory loss caused by thiamine deficiency in the brain. The disorder is marked by both retrograde amnesia (the loss of previously formed memories) and anterograde amnesia (the inability to form new memories). Another common symptom is confabulation, or the process of creating vivid but fabricated memories, typically thought to be an attempt made by the brain to fill in the gaps of missing memories.

Question 7

Provide another name for conversion disorder

Answer 7

Conversion disorder is also known as functional neurological symptom disorder.

characterized by symptoms affecting voluntary motor or sensory functions that are incompatible with the patient’s neurophysiological condition. The symptoms generally begin soon after the individual experiences high levels of stress or a traumatic event, but may not develop until some time has passed after the initiating experience. Examples include paralysis or blindness without evidence of neurological damage.

The patient may be surprisingly unconcerned by the symptom—what is called la belle indifférence. Conversion disorder was historically called hysteria. The symptoms seen in conversion disorder may sometimes be connected with the inciting event in a literal or poetic way; for example, a woman going blind shortly after watching her son die tragically.

Question 8

Provide 3 examples of conversion disorder and explain what characterises this condition.

Answer 8

Paralysis w/out neurological damage, blindness without neurological damage, and la belle indifférence.

Conversion disorder, also known as functional neurological symptom disorder is characterized by symptoms affecting voluntary motor or sensory functions that are incompatible with the patient’s neurophysiological condition. The symptoms generally begin soon after the individual experiences high levels of stress or a traumatic event, but may not develop until some time has passed after the initiating experience. Examples include paralysis or blindness without evidence of neurological damage.

The patient may be surprisingly unconcerned by the symptom—what is called la belle indifférence. Conversion disorder was historically called hysteria. The symptoms seen in conversion disorder may sometimes be connected with the inciting event in a literal or poetic way; for example, a woman going blind shortly after watching her son die tragically.

Question 9

A patient who is experiencing severe marital problems reports having no memory of any life events surrounding the marriage and the spouse. The patient’s memory for other life events is intact. This patient is most likely to be diagnosed with:

A. a conversion disorder.

B. schizophrenia.

C. retrograde amnesia.

D. a dissociative disorder.

Answer 9

D. a dissociative disorder.

The patient is selectively forgetting distracting elements of his/her life, which indicates a dissociative disorder.

Question 10

Some studies have found that increases in dopamine activity are associated with increased reward-seeking motivation. This finding suggests an association between dopamine levels and which type of learning?

A. Classical conditioning

B. Operant conditioning

C. Latent learning

D. Observational learning

Answer 10

B. Operant conditioning

The finding focuses on reward-seeking motivation, which is most closely associated with operant conditioning (change in behavior due to past outcomes).

Question 11

Describe:
Marginal Poverty

Answer 11

Marginal poverty involves lacking stable employment. An individual cannot maintain a steady job or find a steady job.

Question 12

What is modeling?

Answer 12

Observational learning, or modeling, is the acquisition of behavior by watching others.

Modeling is just another word for observational learning

Question 13

Which type of psychoactive drug has the lowest risk of dependence?

A. Stimulants

B. Hallucinogens

C. Alcohol

D. Sedatives

Answer 13

B. Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens have low risk of dependence, whereas the other substances listed as possible answers carry a moderate to high risk of physical or psychological dependence (the question does not require making a distinction between either).

Question 14

Define:

Alcohol myopia

Answer 14

Alcohol myopia is a short-sighted view of the world caused by the effect alcohol has on decreasing one’s ability to recognize consequences of actions.

Question 15

Briefly describe sedatives and provide two examples of such.

Answer 15

Sedatives tend to depress central nervous system activity, resulting in feelings of calm, relaxation, and drowsiness.

Two types of sedatives are barbiturates and benzodiazepines.

Barbiturates were historically used as anxiety-reducing (anxiolytic) and sleep medications, but have mostly been replaced by benzodiazepines, which are less prone to overdose.

Question 16

A physician approaches a new patient with the assumption that the patient is not well educated and thus less knowledgeable about health issues. Does this scenario illustrate discrimination?

A. Yes; the scenario illustrates a judgment that is not based on supporting evidence.

B. No; the scenario identifies a bias directed at an individual rather than at a group.

C. Yes; the scenario suggests that a negative evaluation could affect the interaction.

D. No; the scenario describes an attitude but does not specify differential treatment.

Answer 16

D. No; the scenario describes an attitude but does not specify differential treatment.

The hypothetical physician displays a biased attitude, and thus a prejudice potentially based on a stereotype. However, no action or behavior is specifically identified with the scenario in the question. Without a description of differential treatment or behavior, discrimination is not identified.

Question 17

To determine the effectiveness of brainstorming, a researcher designs a study in which participants are asked to produce alternatives to an existing marketing strategy on their own or with a group. Which pattern of results is most likely based on research on group processes?

A. Groups arrive at the improved alternatives more often than individuals.

B. Groups are more likely to critically evaluate alternatives than individuals.

C. On average, participants generate more alternatives alone than in a group.

D. On average, participants produce more alternatives in a group than alone.

Answer 17

C. On average, participants generate more alternatives alone than in a group.

Social loafing refers to the fact that people are more productive alone than in a group. Research also suggests that individuals are less critical and less creative in groups.

Question 18

Which of the following individual-level effect is most similar to groupthink?

A. Self-serving bias

B. Confirmation bias

C. Hindsight bias

D. Response bias

Answer 18

B. Confirmation bias

As with a group affected by groupthink, an individual’s confirmation bias causes the person to seek, and attend to, only information that confirms his or her existing point of view and to ignore disconfirming evidence.

Question 19

The left cerebral hemisphere in humans is most often linked with which cognitive function?

A. Visuospatial skills

B. Music perception

C. Vocabulary skills

D. Emotion processing

Answer 19

C. Vocabulary skills

Vocabulary skills tend to be lateralized to the left hemisphere, whereas visuospatial skills, music perception, and emotion processing tend to be lateralized to the right hemisphere.

Question 20

Research has shown that when individuals study material right before going to sleep, they perform better on a recall measure upon awakening compared to individuals who study and then watch a movie before going to sleep. Which memory construct provides the most likely explanation for these results?

A. Misinformation

B. Primacy

C. Spreading activation

D. Interference

Answer 20

D. Interference

When people study new material, any new information introduced between the initial learning (i.e., encoding) and retrieval, such as viewing a movie, will interfere with memory consolidation.

Question 21

Individuals who have the ability to delay gratification in pursuit of long-term rewards are most likely to be categorized as having which type of intelligence?

A. Analytical

B. Creative

C. Interpersonal

D. Emotional

Answer 21

D. Emotional

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, express, understand, and manage one’s emotions. Emotionally intelligent people are self-aware and can delay gratification in pursuit of long-term rewards, rather than being overtaken by immediate impulses. None of the other answer choices is related to delaying gratification.

Question 22

Describe:
Analytical intelligence

Answer 22

Analytical intelligence involves completing academic problems and problem-solving tasks. This is what we traditionally think of when we think of what we tested in school or on a math test.

Question 23

A researcher is interested in how anxiety disorders affect escape learning. Which procedure is most appropriate for assessing the dependent variable in this study?

A. Having the participants fill out a validated questionnaire that screens for anxiety disorders

B. Having a trained practitioner assess the participants for anxiety disorders

C. Monitoring how many trials it takes for participants to avoid a response that results in an electric shock when the electric shock is signaled with a tone

D. Monitoring how many trials it takes for participants to be conditioned to perform a response that results in the termination of an electric shock

Answer 23

D. Monitoring how many trials it takes for participants to be conditioned to perform a response that results in the termination of an electric shock

The purpose of the study was to determine how anxiety disorders affect escape learning, and this option is the only one that refers to an empirical observation of escape behavior.

There is a slight difference between escape and avoidance. Escape learning would involve a way to stop the shock from happening when it happens. Avoidance involves actively avoiding the shock in the first place.

Question 24

A researcher conducts observational research on the study habits of college students. When students are aware of the researcher’s presence, they are more attentive, focused, and structured. When students are not aware of the researcher’s presence, they are inattentive, unfocused, and distracted. Which concept best describes this phenomenon?

A. Impression management

B. The Hawthorne effect

C. Self-fulfilling prophecy

D. The Thomas theorem

Answer 24

B. The Hawthorne effect

The Hawthorne effect describes changes in research participants as a result of their awareness that they are being observed. The changes to the students’ study habits are best explained by the Hawthorne effect, which was first observed among workers. The incorrect options refer to related but distinct concepts.

A self-fulfilling prophecy is an individual’s internalization of a label that leads to a fulfillment of that label.

Impression management refers to individuals actively managing how they are perceived by others.

The Thomas theorem states that if an individual believes something to be real, then it is real in its consequences.

Question 25

Describe the Thomas Theorem

Answer 25

The Thomas Theorem is typically said as, “if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.” Essentially, the outcome depends on the way a situation is interpreted, not the actual situation itself.

Question 26

Describe:
Exchange mobility

Answer 26

Exchange mobility suggests classes maintain a relatively static number of people. For example, if one individual moves up a class, a different individual will exchange and compensate for this by moving down. The relative number of people per class is not expected to fluctuate.

Question 27

Citizens of a particular city often blame skateboarders for crimes in which they were not remotely involved. What does this situation most clearly exemplify?

A. False consensus

B. Affirmative action

C. Fundamental attribution error

D. A scapegoat

Answer 27

D. A scapegoat

In this situation, the citizens are displaying prejudice against the skateboarders by assigning blame for crimes they did not commit. In other words, they are expressing their anger about certain events against a social group that they dislike. This is a classic example of a scapegoat.

Another common example is the Nazis’ blame of the Jewish people for Germany’s problems before and during the Holocaust.

Question 28

If a legally blind individual is unable to perceive visual contrasts and identify the edges of shapes, which structure in his or her visual pathway is most likely damaged?

A. The optic chiasm

B. The visual cortex

C. The horizontal cells

D. The optic tracts

Answer 28

C. The horizontal cells

The horizontal cells assist the bipolar cells by processing and organizing visual information. Doing so allows us to discern the edges of objects and detect visual contrasts.

Question 29

What structure(s) related to vision are responsible for the ability to perceive contrats, such as edge detection?

Answer 29

Horizontal cells

Question 30

The illusion that railroad tracks come together in the distance involves the depth cue of:

A. atmospheric perspective.

B. texture gradient.

C. light and shadow.

D. linear perspective.

Answer 30

D. linear perspective.

As objects become more distant they appear smaller because their visual angle decreases. Linear perspective is a depth cue that is related to both relative size and the next depth cue, texture gradient. In linear perspective, parallel lines that recede into the distance appear to get closer together or converge.

Question 31

__________ refers to the convergence of parallel lines at a distance.

Answer 31

Linear perspective refers to the convergence of parallel lines at a distance.

Question 32

A village has 2000 citizens, half male, half female. A survey shows that 2 women have liver cancer. Over the next year, 50 more women are diagnosed with liver cancer. If there are no remissions or deaths during that year, what would be the incidence of liver cancer in this village?

A. 0.002

B. 0.025

C. 0.040

D. 0.050

Answer 32

B. 0.025

Incidence is a measure of disease that allows us to determine a person’s probability of being diagnosed with a disease during a given period of time. Therefore, incidence is the number of newly diagnosed cases of a disease.

An incidence rate is the number of new cases of a disease divided by the number of persons at risk for the disease.

Here, the number of new cases is 50, and the total number of persons is 2000. We thus need to calculate 50/2000. If you have trouble doing this without a calculator, note that 50/1000 is 0.05, so 50/2000 must be half of that, or 0.025.

Question 33

According to the DSM-V, bipolar I disorder is classified as a:

A. somatic disorder.

B. anxiety disorder.

C. trauma or stress-related disorder.

D. mood disorder.

Answer 33

D. mood disorder.

Both major depressive disorder and the bipolar disorders (I and II) are listed among the mood disorders. “Mood” refers to a long-term state that includes emotion and arousal; in individuals with mood disorders, this state is significantly altered from a typical range.

Question 34

A heroin addict is experiencing painful withdrawal symptoms four days after quitting the drug. What is the main cause of these adverse effects?

A. Her body is overproducing endorphins, resulting in sensitivity and pain.

B. Her body is underproducing endorphins, resulting in sensitivity and pain.

C. Her body has stopped producing GABA.

D. One of her dopaminergic pathways has been seriously damaged.

Answer 34

B. Her body is underproducing endorphins, resulting in sensitivity and pain.

Heroin, like other opiates, acts as a pharmacological endorphin. Interestingly, the term “endorphin” is even derived from the phrase “endogenous morphine.” The constant stimulation of specific receptors by the drug causes a downregulation of endorphin production by the body. When an individual ceases to use opiates, painful withdrawal symptoms occur due to this underproduction or even complete stoppage of endorphin release.

Question 35

Social cognitive theory explains which of the following patterns of behavior:

A. a child who watches many violent horror movies with his parents and, as a teenager, begins to exhibit aggressive tendencies.

B. a boy whose parents regularly cook aromatic meals and who, as a result, is positively biased towards others who cook regularly.

C. the father of two successful professional athletes who gains weight as he feels less of a need to prove his athleticism.

D. the sibling of a successful artist who intentionally leaves the walls of his apartment bare.

Answer 35

A. a child who watches many violent horror movies with his parents and, as a teenager, begins to exhibit aggressive tendencies.

Social cognitive theory claims that individuals learn attitudes and behaviors by observing those of others. Of these choices, only the child who seems to let violent movies shape his behavior demonstrates actions that were impacted by observation.

Question 36

While rock climbing, Eric notices a rapidly-moving object out of the corner of his eye. He quickly turns his head to see that a bird just flew around to the other side of the cliff. Relieved, Eric decides that this is not a threat. What type of appraisal is Eric performing?

A. Eustress appraisal

B. Primary appraisal

C. Secondary appraisal

D. Reappraisal

Answer 36

B. Primary appraisal

Cognitive appraisal of stress consists of two stages: primary and secondary.

During primary appraisal, the person analyzes the potential stressor along with the surrounding environment to determine whether it represents a threat. Eric does this as he glances toward the moving object, realizes its identity, and decides that it is harmless to him.

If a threat (and thus a source of stress) had been detected, secondary appraisal would have ensued, in which Eric would have decided whether and how he could reasonably cope with the situation. Since Eric realized that the bird was not dangerous at all, secondary appraisal would not happen here.

Question 37

Which of these statements is most likely accurate?

A. A person who does not believe in consuming alcohol will not go to many parties.

B. A person who wants to be fit will avoid eating at fast-food restaurants.

C. A person who wants to gains muscle mass will decide to lift weights.

D. A person who feels lonely will opt to try out an online dating site.

Answer 37

C. A person who wants to gains muscle mass will decide to lift weights.

Attitudes tend to have the most predictable effects on behavior when they are highly specific. Since this person specifically wishes to build muscle and not just to become more athletic, it is very likely that he or she will start lifting weights.

Question 38

According to differential association theory, how is deviance learned?

A. Through interactions with others

B. Through self-identification

C. Through social control

D. Through pressure from peer groups

Answer 38

A. Through interactions with others

Differential association is when an individual bases their behaviors on association and interaction with others. This is most often studied in the analysis of learned deviance such as learned criminal behavior.

Question 39

Which factor does NOT play a potential direct role in the initiation of a riot?

A. Bystander apathy

B. Moral panic

C. Mass hysteria

D. Emergent properties of the crowd

Answer 39

A. Bystander apathy

Bystander apathy, also known as the bystander effect, is a social phenomenon in which observers are less likely to help a victim when other people are present. Although riots certainly do include bystanders, their lack of action does not directly initiate such violence or rebellion.