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MCAT > Behavioral Science > Flashcards

Behavioral Science Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

The phenomenon of a stereotype creating an expectation of a particular group, which creates conditions that lead to confirmation of this stereotype

A

Self-fulfilling prophecy

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2
Q

A theory that states that people tend to associate traits and behavior in others, and that people have the tendency to attribute their own beliefs, opinions, and ideas onto others.

A

Implicit personality theory

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3
Q

A cognitive bias in which judgments of an individual’s character can be affected by the overall impression of the individual.

A

Halo effect

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4
Q

A model that explains social interaction and decision making as a game, including strategies, incentives, and punishments.

A

Game theory

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5
Q

The general bias toward making dispositional attributions rather than situational attributions when analyzing another person’s behavior.

A

Fundamental attribution error

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6
Q

The act of searching for and exploiting food resources.

A

Foraging

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7
Q

The practice of making judgments about other cultures based on the values and beliefs of one’s own culture.

A

Ethnocentrism

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8
Q

In classical conditioning, the process by which two similar but distinct conditioned stimuli produce different responses; in sociology, when individuals of a particular group are treated differently from others based on their group.

A

Discrimination

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9
Q

The recognition that social groups and cultures must be studied on their own terms to be understood.

A

Cultural relativism

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10
Q

A theory that states that people pay closer attention to intentional behavior than accidental behavior when making attributions, especially if the behavior is unexpected.

A

Correspondent inference theory

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11
Q

A phenomenon observed when individuals must make judgments that are complex but instead substitute a simpler solution or perception.

A

Attribution substitution

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12
Q

A very deep emotional bond to another person, particularly a parent or caregiver.

A

Attachment

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13
Q

A form of helping behavior in which the intent is to benefit someone else at a cost to oneself.

A

Altruism

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14
Q

A formalized ceremony that usually involves specific material objects, symbolism, and additional mandates on acceptable behavior.

A

Ritual

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15
Q

The transition from high birth and mortality rates to lower birth and mortality rates, seen as a country develops from a preindustrial to an industrialized economic system.

A

Demographic transition

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16
Q

A theoretical framework that studies the ways individuals interact through a shared understanding of words, gestures, and other symbols.

A

Symbolic interactionism

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17
Q

An ethnic identity that is only relevant on special occasions or in specific circumstances and that does not impact everyday life.

A

Symbolic ethnicity

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18
Q

The nonmaterial culture that represents a group of people; expressed through ideas and concepts.

A

Symbolic culture

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19
Q

Philosophies that drive large numbers of people to organize to promote or resist social change.

A

Social movements

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20
Q

A theoretical approach that uncovers the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the formation of their perceived social reality.

A

Social constructionism

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21
Q

The ethical tenet that a physician has a responsibility to avoid interventions in which the potential for harm outweighs the potential for benefit.

A

Nonmaleficence

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22
Q

An impression management strategy where one creates obstacles to avoid self-blame when he or she does not meet expectations.

A

Self-handicapping

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23
Q

Understanding the thoughts and motives of other people present in the social world; also referred to as social cognition.

A

Social perception

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24
Q

The idea that individuals will view their own success as being based on internal factors, while viewing failures as being based on external factors.

A

Self-serving bias

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25
Q

An irrationally based positive or negative attitude toward a person, group, or thing, formed prior to actual experience.

A

Prejudice

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26
Q

An aspect of interpersonal attraction or impression management in which one shares his or her fears, thoughts, and goals with another person in the hopes of being met with empathy and nonjudgment.

A

Self-dsiclosure

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27
Q

The cognitive bias that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people.

A

Just World hypothesis

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28
Q

A measure of reproductive success; depends on the number of offspring an individual has, how well they support their offspring, and how well their offspring can support others.

A

Inclusive fitness

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29
Q

Attitudes and impressions that are made based on limited and superficial information about a person or a group of individuals.

A

Stereotypes

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30
Q

The physical items one associates with a given cultural group.

A

Material culture

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31
Q

In medical ethics, the tenet that the physician has a responsibility to treat similar patients with similar care and to distribute healthcare resources fairly.

A

Justice

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32
Q

The statistical arm of sociology, which attempts to characterize and explain populations by quantitative analysis.

A

Demographics

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33
Q

A theoretical framework that emphasizes the role of power differentials in producing social order.

A

Conflict theory

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34
Q

The ethical tenet that a physician has a responsibility to act in the patient’s best interest.

A

Beneficence

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35
Q

A state of normlessness; anomic conditions erode social solidarity by means of excessive individualism, social inequality, and isolation.

A

Anomie

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36
Q

The movement of individuals in the social hierarchy through changes in income, education, or occupation.

A

Social mobility

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37
Q

The investment people make in their society in return for economic or collective rewards.

A

Social capital

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38
Q

The number of cases of a disease per population in a given period of time; usually, cases per 1000 people per year.

A

Prevalence

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39
Q

A socioeconomic condition of low resource availability; in the United States, the poverty line is determined by the government’s calculation of the minimum income requirements for families to acquire the minimum necessities of life.

A

Poverty

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40
Q

A society in which advancement up the social ladder is based on intellectual talent and achievement.

A

Meritocracy

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41
Q

The number of new cases of a disease per population at risk in a given period of time; usually, new cases per 1000 at-risk people per year.

A

Incidence

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42
Q

Groups of people within a culture that distinguish themselves from the primary culture to which they belong.

A

Subcultures

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43
Q

The extreme disapproval or dislike of a person or group based on perceived differences in social characteristics from the rest of society.

A

Stigma

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44
Q

The tendency to perform at a different level based on the fact that others are around.

A

Social facilitation

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45
Q

Actions and behaviors that individuals are conscious of and performing because others are around.

A

Social action

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46
Q

Societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior.

A

Norms

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47
Q

The tendency for groups to make decisions based on ideas and solutions that arise within the group without considering outside ideas and ethics; based on pressure to conform and remain loyal to the group.

A

Groupthink

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48
Q

The tendency toward decisions that are more extreme than the individual thoughts of the group members.

A

Group polarization

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49
Q

A theory in which attitudes are formed and changed through different routes of informational processing based on the degree of deep thought given to persuasive information.

A

Elaboration likelihood model

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50
Q

A theory that states that people tend to associate traits and behavior in others, and that people have the tendency to attribute their own beliefs, opinions, and ideas onto others.

A

Implicit personality theory

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51
Q

A phenomenon observed when individuals must make judgments that are complex but instead substitute a simpler solution or perception.

A

Attribute substitution

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52
Q

The violation of norms, rules, or expectations within society

A

Deviance

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53
Q

The idea that people will lose a sense of self awareness and can act dramatically differently based on the influence of a group.

A

Deindividuation

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54
Q

A change of behavior of an individual at the request of another.

A

Compliance

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55
Q

The simultaneous presence of two opposing thoughts or opinions.

A

Cognitive dissonance

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56
Q

The observation that, when in a group, individuals are less likely to respond to a person in need.

A

Bystander effect

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57
Q

In psychology, the process by which new information is interpreted in terms of existing schemata; in sociology, the process by which the behavior and culture of a group or an individual begins to merge with that of another group.

A

Assimilation

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58
Q

A tendency toward expression of positive or negative feelings or evaluations of a person, place, thing, or situation.

A

Attitude

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59
Q

A psychological and physiological state of being awake and reactive to stimuli; nearly synonymous with alertness.

A

Arousal

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60
Q

A theory of emotional expression that assumes there are no biologically wired emotions; rather, they are based on experiences and situational context alone.

A

Social construction model of emotion

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61
Q

A set of beliefs, values, attitudes, and norms that define expectations of behaviors associated with a given status.

A

Role

62
Q

An impression management strategy in which one uses props, appearance, emotional expression, or associations with others to create a positive image.

A

Managing appearances

63
Q

An impression management strategy that uses flattery to increase social acceptance.

A

Ingratiation

64
Q

Theory that distinguishes between two major types of groups: communities (Gemeinschaften), which share beliefs, ancestry, or geography; and society (Gesellschaften), which work together toward a common goal.

A

/Gemeinschaft /and /Gesellschaft/

65
Q

An impression management strategy in which one imposes an identity onto another person.

A

Alter casting

66
Q

An impression management strategy in which one makes questionable behavior acceptable through excuses.

A

Aligning actions

67
Q

A status with which a person is most identified.

A

Master status

68
Q

Behaviors that are intended to influence the perceptions of other people about a person, object, or event.

A

Impression management

69
Q

In the dramaturgical approach, the setting where players are in front of an audience and perform roles that are in keeping with the image they hope to project about themselves.

A

Frontstage

70
Q

Impression management theory that represents the world as a stage and individuals as actors performing to an audience.

A

Dramaturgical approach

71
Q

In the dramaturgical approach, the setting where players are free from their role requirements and not in front of the audience; back stage behaviors may not be deemed appropriate or acceptable and are thus kept invisible from the audience.

A

Back stage

72
Q

A similar theory to the basic model, accepting that there are biologically predetermined expressions once an emotion is experienced; accepts that there is a cognitive antecedent to emotional expression.

A

Appraisal model

73
Q

A theory of perception that states that there is a constant ratio between the change in stimulus intensity needed to produce a just-noticeable difference and the intensity of the original stimulus.

A

Weber’s law

74
Q

Transduction of physical stimuli into neurological signals.

A

Sensation

75
Q

The minimum distance necessary between two points of stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as two distinct stimuli.

A

Two-Point threshold

76
Q

Perception of a stimulus below a threshold (usually the threshold of conscious perception).

A

Subliminal perception

77
Q

The sense of “touch,” which contains multiple modalities: pressure, vibration, pain, and temperature.

A

Somatosensation

78
Q

A theory of perception in which internal (psychological) and external (environmental) context both play a role in our perception of stimuli.

A

Signal detection theory

79
Q

The tendency of subjects to systematically respond to a stimulus in a particular way due to nonsensory factors.

A

Response bias

80
Q

The ability to tell where one’s body is in space.

A

Proprioception

81
Q

The ability to simultaneously analyze and combine information regarding multiple aspects of a stimulus, such as color, shape, and motion.

A

Parallel processing

82
Q

The minimum difference in magnitude between two stimuli before one can perceive this difference; also called a difference threshold.

A

Just-noticeable difference

83
Q

Ways for the brain to infer missing parts of an image when the image is incomplete.

A

Gestalt principles

84
Q

Process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass new information.

A

Accomodation

85
Q

The minimum of stimulus energy needed to activate a sensory system.

A

Absolute threshold

86
Q

A period of at least one week with prominent and persistent elevated or expansive mood and at least two other manic symptoms.

A

Manic episode

87
Q

The guide by which most psychological disorders are characterized, described, and diagnosed; currently in its fifth edition (DSM-5, published May 2013).

A

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

88
Q

A period of at least two weeks in which there is a prominent and persistent depressed mood or lack of interest and at least four other depressive symptoms.

A

Depressive episode

89
Q

Fixed, false beliefs that are discordant with reality and not shared by one’s culture, but are maintained in spite of strong evidence to the contrary.

A

Delusions

90
Q

A psychotic disorder characterized by gross distortions of reality and disturbances in the content and form of thought, perception, and behavior.

A

Schizophrenia

91
Q

Disorders that involve patterns of behavior that are inflexible and maladaptive, causing distress or impaired function in at least two of the following: cognition, emotion, interpersonal functioning, or impulse control.

A

Personality Disorder

92
Q

Disorders that involve a perceived separation from identity or the environment.

A

Dissociative disorders

93
Q

Disorganized motor behavior characterized by various unusual physical movements or stillness.

A

Catatonia

94
Q

Disorders that involve worry, unease, fear, and apprehension about future uncertainties based on real or imagined events that can impair physical and psychological health.

A

Anxiety disorders

95
Q

Emotions that are recognized by all cultures; includes happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, contempt, and surprise.

A

Universal emotions

96
Q

Decreased response to a drug after physiological adaptation.

A

Tolerance

97
Q

A theory that states that the body will adapt to counteract repeated exposure to stimuli, such as seeing afterimages or ramping up the sympathetic nervous system in response to a depressant.

A

Opponent process theory

98
Q

A theory that explains motivation as being based on the goal of eliminating uncomfortable internal states.

A

Drive reduction theory

99
Q

A theory of emotion that states that both physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal must occur before an emotion is consciously experienced.

A

Schacter-Singer theory

100
Q

A theory of emotion that states that a stimulus results in physiological arousal, which then leads to a secondary response in which emotion is consciously experienced.

A

James-Lange theory

101
Q

A theory of emotion that states that a stimulus is first received and is then simultaneously processed physiologically and cognitively, allowing for the conscious emotion to be experienced.

A

Cannon-Bard Theory

102
Q

A theory of motivation that states that there is particular level of arousal required in order to perform actions optimally; summarized by the Yerkes-Dodson law.

A

Arousal theory

103
Q

A behavior with the intention to cause harm or increase relative social dominance; can be physical or verbal.

A

Aggression

104
Q

Conversion of physical, electromagnetic, auditory, and other stimuli to electrical signals in the nervous system.

A

Transduction

105
Q

In Freudian psychoanalysis, the part of the unconscious resulting from basic, instinctual urges for sexuality and survival; operates under the pleasure principle and seeks instant gratification.

A

Id

106
Q

In Freudian psychoanalysis, the part of the unconscious mind that mediates the urges of the id and superego; operates under the reality principle.

A

Ego

107
Q

The alignment of physiological processes with the 24-hour day, including sleep-wake cycles and some elements of the endocrine system.

A

Circadian rhythm

108
Q

A memory error by which a person remembers the details of an event but confuses the context by which the details were gained; often causes a person to remember events that happened to someone else as having happened to him- or herself.

A

Source amnesia

109
Q

A term used to describe the observable pattern of social relationships among individual units of analysis.

A

Network

110
Q

A form of negative reinforcement in which one reduces the unpleasantness of something that already exists.

A

Escape

111
Q

A retrieval cue by which memory is aided when a person is in the location where encoding took place.

A

Context effect

112
Q

A form of negative reinforcement in which one eschews the unpleasantness of something that has yet to happen.

A

Avoidance

113
Q

In classical conditioning, the process of taking advantage of reflexive responses to turn a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus.

A

Acquisition

114
Q

The retention of encoded information; divided into sensory, short-term, and long-term memory.

A

Storage

115
Q

The phenomenon of retaining larger amounts of information when the amount of time between sessions of relearning is increased.

A

Spacing effect

116
Q

In operant conditioning, the process of conditioning a complex behavior by rewarding successive approximations of the behavior.

A

Shaping

117
Q

The tendency to better remember items presented at the beginning or end of a list; related to the primary and recency effects.

A

Serial position effect

118
Q

Visual (iconic) and auditory (echoic) stimuli briefly stored in memory; fades very quickly unless attention is paid to the information.

A

Sensory memory

119
Q

Organization of information in the brain by linking concepts with similar characteristics and meaning.

A

Semantic network

120
Q

The process of demonstrating that information has been retained in memory; includes recall, recognition, and relearning.

A

Retrieval

121
Q

In operant conditioning, the use of a stimulus designed to increase the frequency of a desired behavior.

A

Reinforcement

122
Q

The phenomenon in which the most recent information we have about an individual is most important in forming our impressions.

A

Recency effect

123
Q

In operant conditioning, the use of an aversive stimulus designed to decrease the frequency of an undesired behavior.

A

Punishment

124
Q

A retrieval cue by which recall is aided by a word or phrase that is semantically related to the desired memory.

A

Priming

125
Q

The phenomenon of first impressions of a person being more important than subsequent impressions.

A

Primacy effect

126
Q

A form of associative learning in which the frequency of a behavior is modified using reinforcement or punishment. Contrast with classical conditioning.

A

Operant conditioning

127
Q

A form of learning in which behavior is modified as a result of watching others.

A

Observational learning

128
Q

Change in neural connections caused by learning or a response to injury.

A

Neuroplasticity

129
Q

A phenomenon in which memories are altered by misleading information provided at the point of encoding or recall.

A

Misinformation effect

130
Q

Repetition of a piece of information to either keep it within working memory or store it.

A

Maintenance rehearsal

131
Q

A retrieval error caused by the learning of information; can be proactive (old information causes difficulty learning new information) or retroactive (new information interferes with older learning).

A

Interference

132
Q

The tendency of animals to resist learning when a conditioned behavior conflicts with the animal’s instinctive behaviors.

A

Instinctive drift

133
Q

Memory that does not require conscious recall; consists of skills and conditioned behaviors.

A

Implicit memory

134
Q

A decrease in response caused by repeated exposure to a stimulus.

A

Habituation

135
Q

In classical conditioning, the process by which two distinct but similar stimuli come to produce the same response.

A

Generalization

136
Q

In classical conditioning, the decrease in response resulting from repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the presence of the unconditioned stimulus.

A

Extinction

137
Q

Memory that requires conscious recall, divided into facts (semantic memory) and experiences (episodic memory); also known as declarative memory.

A

Explicit memory

138
Q

The process of receiving information and preparing it for storage; can be automatic or effortful.

A

Encoding

139
Q

The association of information in short-term memory to information already stored in long term memory; aids in long-term storage.

A

Elaborative rehearsal

140
Q

A sudden increase in response to a stimulus, usually due to a change in the stimulus or the addition of another stimulus; sometimes called resensitization.

A

Dishabituation

141
Q

A form of associative learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus such that the neutral stimulus alone produces the same response as the unconditioned stimulus; the neutral stimulus thus becomes a conditioned stimulus. Contrast with operant conditioning.

A

Classical conditioning

142
Q

The process by which a connection is made between two stimuli or a stimulus and a response; examples include classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

A

Associative learning

143
Q

A technique used by the ego that denies, falsifies, or distorts reality in order to resolve anxiety caused by undesirable urges of the id and superego.

A

Defense mechanism

144
Q

The ethical tenet that the physician has the responsibility to respect patients’ choices about their own healthcare.

A

Autonomy

145
Q

In Jungian psychoanalysis, a thought or image that has an emotional element and is a part of the collective unconscious.

A

Archetype

146
Q

Those skills which a child has not yet mastered but can accomplish with the help of a more knowledgeable other.

A

Zone of proximal development

147
Q

The ability to sense how another’s mind works.

A

Theory of mind

148
Q

In Freudian psychoanalysis, the part of the unconscious mind focused on idealism, perfectionism, and societal norms.

A

Superego

149
Q

A defense mechanism by which unacceptable urges are transformed into socially acceptable behaviors.

A

Sublimation

150
Q

A defense mechanism by which the ego forces undesired thoughts and urges into the unconscious mind.

A

Repression

MCAT (6 decks)

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