Altius FL 1 Test Psych/Soc Flashcards
1.) Quantitative and Qualitative methods
Quantitative methods are those that are statistically or mathematically based. Qualitative methods are those based on narrative or words. A true experiment is an empirical research design requiring the presence of three study characteristics: 1) Use of both experimental and control groups, 2) Random assignment of subjects to experimental vs. control groups, and 3) Researcher-manipulated variables.
False Positive/Type 1 error and Type 2 Error/False Negative
Type 1 Error, or “false positive,” is when diagnosticians identify a healthy person as a sick person. More specifically, it is rejecting the null hypothesis (which hypothesizes that there is no relationship or difference) when the null hypothesis should have been accepted. In this case, the null hypothesis would be that there is no difference between the patient and a healthy individual, but this was rejected because the diagnostician believed there was evidence that the patient was sick (i.e., insane).
The false-negative in this case would be the vice-versa. Remember that the patient is the person you are evaluating.
3.) How would a social learning theorist explain the impact of father involvement on the intergenerational transmission of relationship instability? Intimate relationships in adulthood are influenced by:
Correct. The key is knowing the definition of social learning and how to apply its concepts. Social learning theory (a.k.a. observational learning) states that behavior is learned primarily through modeling or observation. A social learning theorist would be most likely to explain relationship instability in adulthood in light of problematic relationship behaviors observed in, or modeled by, one’s parents.
6.) Punishments and Reinforcements
Stimulus is removed/added in response to behavior and the removal/addition of this stimulus encourages/discourages the behavior
7.) The data collection methods used in this study are most likely to introduce which form of bias?
Know definition of terms:
a.) Self-serving bias - self-serving bias occurs when a person attributes personal successes to internal factors and personal failures to external factors.
b. ) Specific real bias - Specific real area bias occurs when the sampling for a study occurs at one location, which results in the omission of other populations. Perhaps other universities, or students not attending university at all, would have far different experiences, but this cannot be known if this study method is used.
c. ) Berkson’s fallacy - Berkson’s fallacy is understood as the sampling bias that results from selecting both the observed and control population from a hospital setting. This results in bias because a control from the hospital location is likely different than a control drawn from the general population.
d. ) Pre-screening bias - This is logical. Screening the population for factors prior to sampling.
Hormones that say a particular information
Oxytocin is a hormone that is known to be involved in the social and romantic bonding that occurs between individuals. Therefore, oxytocin would be an ideal candidate for researching biological correlates of relationship stability. Answer A is false because melatonin is associated with changes in ambient light and the sleep-wake cycle. Answer B is false because norepinephrine is involved in the body’s response to stressful stimuli. Answer C is unlikely, because glucagon is involved in regulating blood glucose levels.
Cross-sectional vs Longitudinal study
Participants being drawn from three different groups and observed at the same time point is the cross-sectional aspect of this study design. Data collection lasting a period of three years is the longitudinal aspect of the study design.
Suppose another investigator is interested in the influence of the gender of the absent parent on achievement expectations. Which alteration to the experimental design is most likely to clarify the relationship between absent parent gender and achievement expectations? The addition of a gender identity:
Wrong becuase I was thinking that the alteration was the diagram (experiment question). For the future, it is critical to realize that figure is NOT the experimental design!!!
17.) The finding that education level is positively correlated with self-reported health and exercise frequency provides the most support for which sociology concept?
The key here is realizing what education has been trying to measure or ascertain throughout the paragraph from the beginning to the end. Further reading has noticed that its focus is on inequality and answers should be in that regard.
20.) The national samples mentioned in the passage used random selection, had high survey response rates, and included longitudinal follow-ups which replicated the results. Adhering to these protocols improved the study’s:
For a study to be reliable, the significant results must be replicable. In this case, the longitudinal follow-ups demonstrated replication of the results. Validity, on the other hand, includes meeting all aspects of the scientific method, including randomization. The fact that the study used a random selection method and had a high response rate contributed to the validity of the study. To the contrary, had the sample been acquired in a non-random manner, or had very few people respond, this would draw into question the validity of the results. Non-random sampling introduces bias that could account for the relationships observed rather than a true relationship between the variables tested. A low response rate reduces sample size and makes the sampled group less representative of the population.
21.) The Kuznets Curve indicates that technological development is positively correlated with social stratification. This trend reverses itself as industrial societies evolve into post-industrial societies. A potential weakness in the Kuznets Curve is that it does not:
This is a trick from AAMC typically. It would not be technology because that is already in the question stem and simple models typically would not accurately predict something. This would need a lot of practice.
28.) Terms to learn
Drive reduction theories of motivation operate on the assumption that unmet physiological needs (in this case, the rats’ limited access to water) creates a psychological drive state (thirst) to motivate the animal to reduce the drive, and therefore satisfy the need. Instinct theories (Answer D) describe behavior being motivated by unlearned patterns of behavior seen in all members of a given species (e.g. migratory behavior in birds). Arousal theories (Answer A) operate under the assumption that individuals act to maintain some optimal level of physiological arousal. Incentive theories of motivation (Answer C) suggest an individual engages in behavior to achieve some sort of reward.
32.) Terms t LEARN!
Operant conditioning utilizes reinforcement and punishment to change behavior based on Thorndike’s Law of Effect; which states that “any behavior that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and any behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is likely to be stopped.” Pressing the bar injects the rats with heroin, which is a pleasant consequence, or positive reinforcer. Thus, the rats’ “bar pressing” behavior increases and they are said to be “trained” to press the bar to obtain the heroin. Classical conditioning (Answer A) is a kind of learning that occurs when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US). Usually, the CS is a neutral stimulus (e.g., the sound of a tuning fork), the US is biologically potent (e.g., the taste of food) and the unconditioned response (UR) to the US is an unlearned reflex response (e.g., salivation). Observational (Answer C) and social learning (Answer D) involve learning through the observation of others.
More learning terms
When multiple measurements are taken from the same participants over a period of time, we call this a within-subjects (or repeated measures) design. With this type of design, each subject essentially serves as his/her own control which can dramatically reduce variability in measurement and increase the power of a statistical test. Answer A can be eliminated because a between-subjects design occurs when measurements from different participants are compared to one another. In this study, the fact that there were different treatment groups (i.e. cardiovascular, coordination, and stretching and relaxation training) would serve as a between-subject variable. However, the question stem specifically refers to the multiple measures taken from each individual over time, which is a within-subjects design. Answer C is false because “nonparametric” is not a research design. Rather, nonparametric is a type of statistical analysis. Such analyses are used when working with nominal (categorical) or ordinal (ranked) data. In this case, hippocampal volume is a continuous variable and does not need to be treated in a nonparametric way. Nonparametric may be on the borderline of what is expected knowledge for MCAT-2015 with respect to research methods. However, it is in a distractor, not the correct answer, and we have seen a similar pattern in AAMC materials previously—namely the inclusion of something more esoteric than normal in a distractor, but not in the correct answer. Finally, Answer D can be eliminated because an unbalanced design essentially involves inequalities in sample size of the groups.
Types of Norms
Choice D is correct; taboos are the most deeply held norms in our society. Specifically, these norms prohibit actions thought to be either a) too sacred, or b) too dangerous, awful or accursed, to be performed by anyone. Violation of such norms brings about an extreme response by other members of society. Taking someone’s life and one’s own is an example of this. Other examples could include rape, kidnapping, or harming children or the elderly. Answer choice A is partially correct since societal norms is the broader category to which taboos belong. However, Answer D is the more specific and better choice because societal norms also include rather minor expectations and societal pressures, whereas murder and suicide would be a gross violation of a deeply held societal boundary. Answer B is incorrect because folkways are casual, informal norms. An example of a folkway violation would be picking one’s nose in public. Answer C is incorrect because mores are common, formal norms. These rules govern our everyday behavior. Murder and suicide are clearly more deviant than everyday mores. Many students have submitted comments about this question because they do not feel comfortable saying that the heinous acts described in the stem “violate” the taboo. They have said the murder is the taboo. This is inaccurate. It is correct to say that a taboo has been violated when something heinous is performed. The taboo is not the thing itself, but the societal expectation that that thing NOT be done. By doing it, one has violated the societal expectation. Other students have struggled with the fact that the word “norm” is used to refer to a taboo.
