AAMC 3 - Psych/Soc Flashcards
Key details of a recalled event would fall under what type of memory?
A. Episodic
B. Semantic
C. Procedural
D. Iconic
A. Episodic
What is known about the statistical significance of this data?
The right side of the graph shows statistical significance while the left does not.
Note: while results may be statistically significant even if the error bars overlap, for the purposes of the MCAT, assume that overlapping error bars or confidence intervals mean no statistically significant difference unless indicated otherwise.
Monkeys were raised on a diet of either high- or low-quality protein, and then were given free access to high- and low-quality protein diets. The diet preference for both groups of monkeys is shown. (Note: Both groups of monkeys consumed the same amount of food.)
The data indicate that:
A. the feeding behavior of monkeys was not affected by either prior diet type.
B. prior protein insufficiency was a stronger predictor of future feeding behavior than prior protein sufficiency.
C. prior feeding history influenced future feeding behavior in monkeys raised on a high-quality protein diet only.
D. the feeding behavior was solely determined by both prior diet types.
C. prior feeding history influenced future feeding behavior in monkeys raised on a high-quality protein diet only.
AAMC: The answer to this question is C because the data indicate that monkeys raised on high-quality protein retained a pronounced preference for high-quality protein. A is incorrect because monkeys raised on a high-quality protein had a strong preference for high-quality protein, whereas monkeys raised on a low-quality protein had no preference. B is incorrect because monkeys raised on low-quality protein had no preference in future feeding behavior. D is incorrect because the data indicate that monkeys raised on high-quality protein retained a pronounced preference for high-quality protein. It is a Data-based and Statistical Reasoning question because the question involves identifying a correct conclusion from data presented in a figure.
Jack Westin: the monkeys fed a high-quality protein diet showed a significant future feeding preference indicating influence, while the monkeys initially fed a low-quality protein diet did not show a significant preference or influence.
A 45-year-old man presents himself at a hospital emergency room. Symptoms include a pounding heart, chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, and feeling dizzy. Medical tests reveal that the man did not have a heart attack. Which psychiatric diagnosis provides the most likely explanation for the man’s symptoms?
A. Generalized anxiety disorder
B. Panic disorder
C. Illness anxiety disorder
D. Somatic symptom disorder
B. Panic disorder
Panic disorder is a misfiring of the sympathetic nervous system
Jack Westin: Panic disorder is characterized by panic attacks which can mimic heart attacks and may involve a sudden terror or intense fear, a quickened heart rate (tachycardia), sweating and chest pain. These symptoms, as well as their often acute presentation during a panic attack, are suggestive of a panic disorder.
Every time a volunteer in a sleep study begins to exhibit rapid eye movements (REM), the experimenter wakes the person up. On the following night, when his or her sleep is uninterrupted, the person will most likely:
A. have difficulty falling asleep.
B. have more REM sleep than usual.
C. have less REM sleep than usual.
D. have the same sleep pattern as before the study.
B. have more REM sleep than usual.
The answer to this question is B because after being REM-deprived the night before, the volunteer is going to exhibit “REM rebound.”
When designing a study to test the hypothesis that controlling for SES should reduce racial differences in stress, which data would a researcher be LEAST likely to include in an aggregate measure of SES?
A. Occupational status
B. Income sources
C. Social capital
D. Educational attainment
C. Social capital
AAMC: The answer to this question is C because the only option among the four choices that is not directly related to measuring socioeconomic status (SES) is social capital, which refers to the benefits provided by social networks. The other options refer to the three main components of SES (occupation, income, and education).
In response to stress, what part of the brain initiates signals to the endocrine system?
A. Hippocampus
B. Medulla oblongata
C. Hypothalamus
D. Pons
C. Hypothalamus
AAMC: The answer to this question is C because the hypothalamus is the brain structure that controls the pituitary gland, initiating the stress response.
Jack Westin: the hypothalamus is the first component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responsible for the hormonal response to stress. The hypothalamus secretes corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) which signals to the pituitary to secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which then stimulates the release of cortisol (also known as the “stress hormone”) from the adrenal cortex.
What role does the Pons play in ventilation?
The pons sets the ventilatory rate via control of the tidal volume.
What is the role of the medulla oblongata?
The medulla oblongata is the part of the brainstem responsible for respiratory muscle control as well as associated reflexes (sneezing, coughing, swallowing and vomiting).
The standard version of a dichotic listening task involves:
A. presenting two different auditory messages, one to each ear.
B. presenting two different auditory stimuli to the same ear.
C. requiring participants to identify two subthreshold sounds.
D. requiring participants to dichotomize sounds into distinct categories.
A. presenting two different auditory messages, one to each ear.
AAMC: The answer to this question is A because it provides the operational definition of dichotic listening. Each distractor mentions something about presenting two auditory stimuli, but none specifies that the two different stimuli are presented to different ears.
Jack Westin: This is the best definition of a dichotic listening task: two auditory stimuli, or messages, are presented to each ear and participants are asked to repeat what they heard. It is a measure of selective attention and was designed by Donald Broadbent in the 1950s.
The frequency with which students completed problems decreased after their teacher stopped rewarding completed problems with candy. This observation is an example of which phenomenon?
A. Extinction
B. Shaping
C. Stimulus discrimination
D. Stimulus generalization
A. Extinction
Public health campaigns often target behaviors that are formed in adolescence. For example, alcohol, tobacco, and drug use interventions are often designed to prevent or delay risky behaviors because patterns established in adolescence are associated with disorders in adulthood. This example is best described as using which approach to health?
A. The biopsychosocial model of health risks
B. A macrosociological perspective on health risks
C. The social construction of health behavior
D. A life course perspective on health behavior
D. A life course perspective on health behavior
AAMC: The answer to this question is D because the description of behavioral interventions in the question calls attention to how substance use patterns develop at particular life stages. Attending to life stages is a major characteristic of the life course perspective.
Jack Westin: The life course perspective is an approach in social epidemiology that takes into account the life experiences of an individual at varying life stages and considers how those experiences and decisions will impact future outcomes. This is precisely what is mentioned in the question stem making it the correct answer; risky behaviors during adolescence are associated with disorders in adulthood.
Which hypothetical finding would pose the greatest challenge to the theory that race/ethnicity is socially constructed?
A. During data collection for a large national survey, participants’ self-chosen racial/ethnic category often differed from the racial/ethnic designation made by in-person interviewers.
B. People who identified with one racial/ethnic group were found to have a significantly different genome than people who identified with another racial/ethnic group.
C. During data collection for an experiment on facial recognition, participants failed to consistently identify the racial/ethnic category of people from other parts of the world.
D. The medically evaluated health status of a representative sample of individuals from two different racial/ethnic groups was found to differ significantly between the groups.
B. People who identified with one racial/ethnic group were found to have a significantly different genome than people who identified with another racial/ethnic group.
AAMC: The answer to this question is B because the social construction of race refers to the idea that there is little biological basis for race (or ethnicity). Instead, racial/ethnic categories mostly result from history, culture, and society. If a significant biological basis (specifically for this question, a genetic basis) to racial categories were discovered, however unlikely that might be, it would challenge the idea that race is socially constructed. The remaining options would not contest the social construction of race to the same degree. It is a Scientific Reasoning and Problem Solving question because the question involves evaluating which hypothetical evidence would provide the greatest challenge to a major theoretical principle.
Jack Westin: This is the correct answer because it would challenge a socially constructed definition of race and ethnicity. In this answer choice, there is a genetic and therefore biological difference between members of different racial and ethnic groups. This would challenge a strictly social definition of race and ethnicity, and if true, would suggest a biological contribution.
Which imaging technique is best suited for localizing activity of brain areas?
A. PET
B. EEG
C. MRI
D. CT
A. PET
AAMC: The answer to this question is A because for studies focusing on activation (and thus brain function), a PET scan is the best imaging tool among those listed. The other choices are other techniques that are not specifically designed for measuring brain activation in particular regions.
Jack Westin: A PET scan uses differential consumption of radioactive glucose and its metabolism to identify regions of increased activity. PET scans are often mentioned in the context of identifying tumors and cancers which tend to be much more metabolically active than their neighbors—can someone say hungry and rapidly dividing? They can also be used to determine which parts of the brain are activated during specific tasks. The question stem referred us to neural activity as mentioned in paragraph 3 which would be neural responses as they relate to rewards. The mesolimbic pathway is the “reward pathway” and would light up during a PET scan when paired with an activity that activates the reward pathway, meaning a PET scan would be a great imaging technique. This is the correct answer.
A transient shortage of oxygen (global ischemia) releases excess glutamate into the extracellular fluid of the brain. This causes neuronal death by hyperexcitation to a greater extent in the hippocampus than in the cortex. Which reason best explains why the hippocampus is selectively vulnerable during global ischemia?
A. The magnitude of action potentials is greater in hippocampal than cortical neurons.
B. The expression of NMDA receptors is more abundant in hippocampal than cortical neurons.
C. Hippocampal neurons generate a more negative postsynaptic potential than cortical neurons.
D. Hippocampal synapses have faster neurotransmitter diffusion rates compared to cortical synapses.
B. The expression of NMDA receptors is more abundant in hippocampal than cortical neurons.
AAMC: The answer to this question is B because NMDA receptors are a subtype of glutamate receptor. Higher expression of NDMA receptors in the hippocampus than the cortex would render the hippocampus more vulnerable to the excess release of extracellular glutamate.
