AAMC FL2 PS

Question 1

define the following:

• dependency ratio

- social gradient in heath

Answer 1

dependency ratio: ratio of the number of economically dependent members of the population to the number of economically productive members

social gradient in health: inequalities in population health status are related to inequalities in social status

Question 2

define the following:

• source monitoring error

- life course perspective

Answer 2

A source-monitoring error is a type of memory error where the source of a memory is incorrectly attributed to some specific recollected experience.

LCP: multidisciplinary approach to understanding the mental, physical and social health of individuals, which incorporates both life span and life stage concepts that determine the health trajectory

Question 3

schematic processing

Answer 3

refers to how associations we make in the current situation trigger memory schemas (organized clusters of knowledge) that are activated and processed to guide our behavior / response

Question 4

Our attitude influences three things:

the ABCs

Answer 4

Affective: how we feel
Behavioral: how we act or behave
Cognitive: how we think

Question 5

brainstorming productivity: alone vs group

Answer 5

Social loafing refers to the fact that people are more productive alone than in a group. Thus, brainstorming alone would produce more results than brainstorming in a group.

Question 6

FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

Old Ass People Love Grapefruit

Answer 6

Oral, Anal, Phallic, Love, Genital

Erogenous zone: a sensitive area on the body that causes sexual arousal when it is touched

Oral (0-1 years): mouth
Anal (1-3 years): bowel and bladder elimination
Phallic (3-6 years): genitalia
Latency (6 years - puberty): dormant sexual feelings
Genital (puberty - death): sexual interests mature

Question 7

hemisphere functions

Answer 7

Right: creativity, intuition, insight, music, left hand control

Left: analytic, logic, language, reasoning, science and math, right hand control

Question 8

medulla oblongata

Answer 8

Lower part of the brain stem

Carries out and regulates life sustaining functions such as breathing, swallowing and heart rate

Question 9

cerebellum

Answer 9

Lower area of the brain, below the pons

Responsible for balance and coordination of muscles and the body

Question 10

Hypothalamus

Answer 10

Above the pituitary gland and below the thalamus

Responsible for behaviors such as hunger and thirst, as well as the maintenance of body temperature

Question 11

amygdala

Answer 11

Part of Limbic System, at the end of the hippocampus

Responsible for the response and memory of emotions, especially fear

Question 12

hippocampus

Answer 12

Part of the Limbic system, in each temporal lobe

Responsible for processing of long term memory and emotional responses

Question 13

thalamus

Answer 13

Part of the forebrain, below the corpus callosum

responsible for relaying information from the sensory receptors to proper areas of the brain where it can be processed

Question 14

Pons

Answer 14

Area of the hindbrain that sits directly above the medulla oblongata, thus comprising the top of the brain stem

Connects upper and lower parts of the brain, relaying messages btwn the cortex and the cerebellum; location of REM sleep

Question 15

corpus collosum

Answer 15

Above the Thalamus, under the cortex

Connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain, allowing for transmission of neural messages btwn them

Question 16

cerebral cortex

Answer 16

Outermost layer of the brain

Responsible for thinking and processing information from the five senses

Question 17

frontal lobe

parietal lobe

Answer 17

Frontal lobe: upper front part of the cerebral cortex
– Carries out higher mental processes such as thinking, decision making, and planning

Parietal lobe: upper back part
– Processes sensory information that had to do with taste, temperature, and touch; involved in language

Question 18

temporal lobe

occipital lobe

Answer 18

Temporal lobe: bottom middle part of the cerebral cortex
– Responsible for processing auditory information from the ears (hearing); involved in language

Occipital: bottom back part
– Responsible for processing visual information from the eyes

Question 19

define the following:

• emotional intelligence

- interpersonal intelligence

Answer 19

Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, manage, understand, and use emotion.

Interpersonal intelligence fits under gardner’s multiple intelligence; Interpersonal intelligence measures the person’s ability to communicate with others.

Question 20

sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence

Answer 20

Analytical intelligence is the ability to analyze and evaluate ideas, solve problems and make decisions.

Creative intelligence involves going beyond what is given to generate novel and interesting ideas.

Practical intelligence is the ability that individuals use to find the best fit between themselves and the demands of the environment.

Question 21

Difference btwn escape and avoidance conditioning

mouse example

Answer 21

the key to understanding escape vs avoidance is to remember that both forms of conditioning are a result of negative reinforcement, meaning an aversive stimulus is being removed.

For escape conditioning to occur, an aversive stimulus must be there to begin with, unlike with avoidance conditioning.

eg. Imagine a mouse standing on a metal platform island (surrounded by water.) When an electric shock is administered to the island, the mouse can jump off. This is an ESCAPE behavior.
eg. When the mouse begins to recognize the metal island as even a potential source of electric shocks and begins avoiding it, this is known as an AVOIDANCE behavior.

Question 22

fear conditioning paradigm

Answer 22

fear acquisition > fear generalization > fear memory consolidation > TIME PASSES and fear not triggered > fear extinction > extinction retention > new memory consolidation (fear not triggered ever) or reconsolidation update (fear is triggered again)

Question 23

blind vs double blind study

Answer 23

Blind study: participants do not know what experimental group they are a part of; researchers know

Double blind: both participants and researchers do not know who is in what experimental group

Question 24

Medicalization (behavior)

Answer 24

the taken-for-granted process in which a problem comes to be defined and treated by the social institution of medicine

A behavior undergoes medicalization when both the definition of the problem and the therapy intended to improve it are couched in medical terms.

Question 25

define the following:

• hawthorne effect

- thomas theorem

Answer 25

The Hawthorne effect describes changes in research participants as a result of their awareness that they are being observed.

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

Question 26

define the following:

• horizontal mobility
• upward mobility
• downward mobility

Answer 26

Horizontal mobility describes a situation in which an individual changes some aspect of social identity but maintains the same relative status.

Upward mobility refers to an increase—or upward shift—in social class.

Vs. downward mobility indicates a lowering of one’s social class.