AAMC 2 - Psych/Soc Flashcards
What is the social gradient in health?
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.
_________ 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).
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).
The inability to remember where, when, or how one has obtained knowledge is called _________.
The inability to remember where, when, or how one has obtained knowledge is called source amnesia.
What is a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease that relates to the late afternoon/evening?
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.
Define:
Agnosia
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.
Describe Korsakoff Syndrome
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.
Provide another name for conversion disorder
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.
Provide 3 examples of conversion disorder and explain what characterises this condition.
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.
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.
D. a dissociative disorder.
The patient is selectively forgetting distracting elements of his/her life, which indicates a dissociative disorder.
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
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).
Describe:
Marginal Poverty
Marginal poverty involves lacking stable employment. An individual cannot maintain a steady job or find a steady job.
What is modeling?
Observational learning, or modeling, is the acquisition of behavior by watching others.
Modeling is just another word for observational learning
Which type of psychoactive drug has the lowest risk of dependence?
A. Stimulants
B. Hallucinogens
C. Alcohol
D. Sedatives
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).
Define:
Alcohol myopia
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.
Briefly describe sedatives and provide two examples of such.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Describe:
Analytical intelligence
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.
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
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.
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
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.
