Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Daniel's MCAT Flashcards > Behavioral Sciences > Flashcards

Behavioral Sciences Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
MCAT flashcards
1
Q

What is General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)?

A

How the body reacts to stress, made up of the alarm stage, resistance stage and the exhaustion stage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is the alarm stage?

A

first few minutes of a response to stress (fight or flight)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is the resistance stage?

A

Lasts for hours or months. The body resisting the stressor and establishing a new equilibrium

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is the Exhaustion stage?

A

Prolonged stress (depression, hypertension)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is interactionist theory?

A

language acquisition is the result of biological AND environmental/social factors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is the Cannon-Bard theory?

A

The experience and expression of emotion in the brain occur simultaneously

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are vicarious emotions?

A

They occur when the emotions of one person are instinctually felt by another person

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What does the prefrontal cortex do?

A

Planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What does the hypothalamus do?

A

Responsible for the physiological component of emotion (changes in heart rate, respiration rate).

Regulates the pituitary gland

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is the hippocampus?

A

Responsible for forming new memories.

Essential for declarative or episodic memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What does the amygdala do?

A

It is specialized for input and processing of emotion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is the James-Lange theory of emotion?

A

Bodily changes come first and form the basis of an emotional experience.

You become happier when you smile, you are afraid because you run.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is the Schacter-Singer theory of emotion?

A

exposure to the stimulus, physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation of the situation, followed by the experience of the emotion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is master status?

A

An aspect of one’s life that dominates in social situations (an ex-felon)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is ascribed status?

A

A status that is socially assigned to a person (such as race)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is achieved status?

A

A status that has been attained (an occupation)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

A

Hallucinations and disorganized speech

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

A

apathy, social withdrawal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is group polarization?

A

a group of a mostly likeminded people will often become more extreme in their beleifs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is structural functionalism?

A

The parts of society are interdependent and work together for the good of the whole.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is symbolic interactionism?

A

people respond to elements of their environments according to the subjective meanings they attach to those elements

Interpersonal interactions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What is the elaboration likelihood model?

A

considers the variables of the attitude change approach—that is, features of the source of the persuasive message, contents of the message, and characteristics of the audience are used to determine when attitude change will occur.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What is autonomic aurosal?

A

A disorder characterized by persistent or recurrent signs and symptoms mediated by the autonomic nervous system, excluding pain but including palpitation, hyperventilation, or nausea

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is cultural relativism?

A

The view that ethical and social standards reflect the cultural context from which they are derived

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What is stereotype threat?

A

refers to the anxiety experienced by an individual who feels judged based on a negative stereotype

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What is dominant culture?

A

includes the established set of norms that define a society

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What is a subculture?

A

group of individuals who are characteristically distinctive from the dominant culture in way

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What is discrimination?

A

Negative Treatment of an individual based on the membership of a social group

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

What is prejudice?

A

Negative Feeling of an individual based on the membership of a social group

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

What is the mirror neuron system?

A

neuronal connections within the brain that inspire the mimicking of certain behaviors and emotions. Mirror neurons may serve to connect the sight and subsequent performance of behavior, such as yawning or smiling after another person does the same

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

What are the functions of the right side of the brain?

A
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

What is the function of the left side of the brain?

A
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

What is the bystander effect?

A

Occurs when an individual is less likely to receive help when more people are present.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

Which drugs are depressents?

A

Alcohol and benzodiazepines

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

What is social stigma?

A

Social stigma is associated the social disapproval of deviant characteristics that do not conform to social expectations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

What does a PET scan do?

A

measures changes in glucose metabolize in the brain over time (through radioactive glucose analog

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

What does a CT scan do?

A

gives detailed x ray images of internal structures within the body

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

What does an EEG do?

A

measures changes in voltage in the brain over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

What does an fMRI do?

A

measures changes in blood oxygenation through the different properties of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

What is motion parallax?

A

objects in the foreground appear that they are moving faster than objects in the background

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

What is the Phi phenomenon?

A

known as the motion picture effect (still photos put together to make an optical illusion/movie)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

What is convergence?

A

The extent to which eyes move inward (closer objects require more convergence)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
43
Q

What is the prefrontal cortex responsible for?

A

Responsible for executive functions. does not reach full maturity until 25

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
44
Q

What is the central executive for the working memory?

A

responsible for performing and switching tasks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
45
Q

What is the visuospatial sketchpad for the working memory?

A

employed when manipulating visual information

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
46
Q

What is the phonological loop of the working memory?

A

responsible for processing spoken and written manipulation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
47
Q

What is the episodic buffer of the working memory?

A

Responsible for understanding the timeline of events

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
48
Q

What is drive-reduction thoery?

A

the motivation behind human behavior is to reduce “drives” ex) reducing hunger, stress, AROUSAL

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
49
Q

What do the limbic system structures do?

A

Comprised of the hypothalamus, the amygdala, the thalamus, and the hippocampus.

Responsible for behavior and emotion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
50
Q

What does the longitudinal cohort design do?

A

A type of research study that follows large groups of people over a long time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
51
Q

What does a cross-sectional design do?

A

examines a group of people at one point in time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
52
Q

What is Hans Eysenck’s viewpoint?

A

He published a study on genetics of personality in 1951, which investigated the trait of neuroticism in identical (i.e., monozygotic) and fraternal (i.e., dizygotic) twins.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
53
Q

What is Abraham Maslow’s viewpoint?

A

He was involved with the humanistic perspective of personality, where he formed the hierarchy of needs to describe the physiological and psychological needs humans require to be fulfilled.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
54
Q

What is B.F. Skinner’s viewpoint?

A

He studied the behaviorist perspective of personality, where he studied the ability of operant conditioning to modify personality over time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
55
Q

What is Gordon Allport’s viewpoint?

A

Studied the trait perspective of personality. He argued that three key types of traits contribute to personality: cardinal traits, central traits, and secondary traits.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
56
Q

When does attrition bias occur?

A

when participants drop out of a a long-term study

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
57
Q

What is cognitive dissonace?

A

the unpleasant feeling a person experiences when holding two contradictory beliefs at the same time

ex) A high school math teacher who encouraged his own son to skip college and focus on learning a trade to “save all that wasted tuition money”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
58
Q

What is fixed-ratio?

A

less effective than variable schedules

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
59
Q

What is variable-ratio?

A

more effective… produces the highest response rates most resistant to extinction (casino slot machines)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
60
Q

What is a working memory?

A

refers to the mental operations performed on information in short-term memory.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
61
Q

what is explicit memory?

A

a type of long-term memory that refers to specific pieces of information, including recalling factual knowledge or specific events.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
62
Q

What is implicit memory?

A

long-term memory that reflects knowing how to do something (e.g., being able to ride a bike)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
63
Q

What is representative heuristic?

A

Reasoning about the probability of an event based on what is viewed as a prototypical example of a category.

It often corresponds to stereotypes and expected profiles of people in certain groups

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
64
Q

What is availability heuristic?

A

Reasoning about the probability of an event based on how easily examples come to mind.

A classic example is when specific events are over-represented in the media and then influence perceptions of how common those events truly are.

65
Q

What is confirmation bias?

A

occurs when people pay more attention to information that supports views they already hold.

66
Q

What are in and out groups?

A

In-groups are categories that a person feels they belong to, and out-groups are groups that a person does not belong to and may feel animosity or superiority toward

67
Q

what is hindsight bias?

A

Hindsight bias refers to the tendency to believe that past events were highly predictable, even though those events were not predictable before they occured.

68
Q

What are informal norms?

A

In the absence of specific legal penalties, norms against behaviors are considered informal.

69
Q

What are formal norms?

A

formal norms are those that are encoded by law, legislation introducing specific legal penalties for these behaviors can be implemented

70
Q

What is Asch’s study of conformity?

A

the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could influence a person to conform. Asch used confederates who were instructed to give clearly incorrect answers regarding the lengths of various lines. He then measured the number of times each unknowing participant conformed to the majority view. Asch’s study included 7 confederates who gave the same (incorrect or correct) response in each trial.

71
Q

What is attribution thoery?

A

relates to an attempt by an individual to interpret actions by assigning causes to them

72
Q

What is fundamental attribution error?

A

when an individual interprets another’s actions incorrectly by overemphasizing internal characteristics instead of external events

73
Q

What is abraham maslow’s self-actualization theory?

A

individuals must fulfill the lower needs (like physiological or safety needs) before being free to work toward fulfilling the higher needs, of which self-actualization is the highest.

74
Q

What is Sigmund Freud’s superego theory?

A

Freud’s superego is an aspect of the subconscious that emphasizes moral behavior.

75
Q

What is BF Skinner’s operant conditioning theory?

A

the theory is based on the idea that reward and punishment guide behavior.

76
Q

What is Leon Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theroy?

A

suggests that incongruence between beliefs and behaviors guides change in the inconsistent beliefs and/or behaviors.

77
Q

What are folkways?

A

Norms that govern everyday behavior

78
Q

What are mores?

A

norms that are deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society and have consequences if violated

79
Q

What is a longitudinal cohort experimental design?

A

A group followed over a long period of time

80
Q

What is a case control design?

A

compares individuals with a disease or characteristic of interest to similar individuals without that disease or characteristic.

81
Q

What is kinship of affinity?

A

A kinship of affinity is one in which individuals are related by choice, such as through marriage, rather than through blood

82
Q

What is anomie?

A

Anomie refers to society feeling fragmented and lacking cohesiveness

83
Q

What is social desirability?

A

acting in way that makes one look favorable to other.

84
Q

What is fMRI

A

Functional MRI

technique that would allow the researchers to assess the operation of brain regions, not only their structure

85
Q

What is sMRI

A

structural MRI

scans image anatomical structure whereas FMRI image metabolic function. Thus, the images generated by MRI scans are like three dimensional pictures of anatomic structure.

86
Q

What is a moderating variable?

A

A moderating variable is one that affects the strength of the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable.

87
Q

What is a mediating variable?

A

A mediating variable is one that provides a link and explains a relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable.

88
Q

What is Erikson’s stage of development about middle adulthood (40-65)

A

Generativity vs. stagnation

when individuals are trying to connect with others and find purpose.

89
Q

What is Erikson’s stage of development during young adulthood (19-40)?

A

intimacy vs isolation

when individuals need to form intimate relationships with other people.

90
Q

What is Erikson’s stage of development during maturity (65+)?

A

Integrity vs dispair

reflecting on their life.

91
Q

What is Erikson’s stage of development during adolescence (12-18)?

A

Identity vs role confusion

when teens are trying to find a sense of self or personal identity.

92
Q

A dopamine agonist will reduce the symptoms of which disease?

A

Parkinson’s disease

93
Q

A dopamine agonist would enhance the symptoms of which disease?

A

Schizophrenia

94
Q

An acetylcholine agonist would likely help with the treatment of which disease?

A

Alzheimers

95
Q

What is implicit memory?

A

the ability to unconsciously recall memory or events (riding a bike)

96
Q

What is assimilation of cultures

A

when one seeks to interact with a new culture and rejects a native culture

97
Q

What is sigmund freud’s model of the psyche

A
98
Q

What is the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)?

A

a visual information relay center in the thalamus

detects information in the retina

99
Q

What is the Parietal lobe?

A

Integrates multiple inputs of sensory information, from spatial sense and navigation (proprioception) to temperature (thermoreceptors) and touch (mechanoreceptors)

100
Q

What is reciprocal determinism?

A

reciprocal determinism is is the theory that a person’s behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the environment.

101
Q

What is social cognitive theory?

A

It asserts that people learn by watching others, and if they see that someone is rewarded for a behavior, they are more likely to behave that way, too.

102
Q

What is classical conditioning theory?

A

pairing two stimuli to produce a specific response

103
Q

What process allows humans to detect motion, color, and shape?

A

feature detection

104
Q

Conditioning example

A

the smell of food is an unconditioned stimulus, a feeling of hunger in response to the smell is an unconditioned response, and the sound of a whistle when you smell the food is a conditioned stimulus

105
Q

What is efferent?

A

going away from something (motor neurons)

106
Q

What is afferent?

A

Going towards something (sensory neurons)

107
Q

What is construct validity?

A

refers to whether or not measures actually assess the variables that they are intended to assess. For example, issues with how verbal abuse was defined in this study might pertain to construct validity.

108
Q

What is Weber’s law?

A

there is a linear relationship between the intensity of a stimulus and its detection.

109
Q

What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

A

People with it have difficulty connecting meaning to language. Wernicke’s area is thought to be involved in language comprehension; thus, impairments to this area may impair an individual’s ability to understand language or express meaning.

110
Q

What is the temporal lobe?

A

It is responsible for interpreting sounds from the ears and plays a significant role in recognizing and using language. The temporal lobe also helps with object recognition and interacts with other structures to create new and long term memories.

111
Q

What is the frontal lobe?

A

important for voluntary movement, expressive language and for managing higher level executive functions.

112
Q

What is confabulation?

A

Symptoms of Korsakoff’s syndrome indiuce confabulation – making up memories to fill in gaps and then believing that those memories are true.

113
Q

What kind of cells produce sperm?

A

Sertoli cells of seminiferous tubes

114
Q

What is Long Term Potentiation?

A

a process involving persistent strengthening of synapses that leads to a long-lasting increase in signal transmission between neurons.

115
Q

What is Tonic Stimulus Response?

A

In the Peripheral Nervous System (not the brain)

adapts slowly to a stimulus and continues to produce action potentials over the duration of the stimulus.

116
Q

What is Chomsky’s language acquisition theory?

A

individuals have an innate language acquisition capacity

117
Q

What is Vygotsky’s social learning theory?

A

It heavily stresses the role of people and interactions in the acquisition of cognitive skills such as language, which would involve mirror neurons.

118
Q

What is the post-conventional stage of Kohlberg’s moral development?

A

It is characterized by concern for morality and the good of society rather than social rules and laws

119
Q

What is the pre-conventional stage of Kohlberg’s moral development?

A

It is is characterized by more concern for rewards and punishments than social rules and laws

120
Q

How long does an adult sleep cycle last?

A

90 minutes

121
Q

How many stages of sleep are there?

A

1,2,3,4,REM

stage three is where the deepest sleep occurs

122
Q

What is an affect heuristic?

A

the process of making a judgment based on emotions that are evoked.

123
Q

What are stimulus motives?

A

a motive that appears to be unlearned but causes an increase in stimulation, such as curiosity. These motives are not necessary for survival.

124
Q

What is Stanley Milgram’s contribution to pyschology?

A

His obedience experiment, where he demonstrated that participants would follow the orders of a superior if instructed to go against their conscience.

125
Q

What is normative social influence?

A

Describes when an individual conforms to FIT IN or AVOID REJECTION by others.

For example, a college freshman notices that everyone wears a wristband, so he wears one to fit in

126
Q

What is informational influence?

A

Describes when an individual conforms to what others are doing because they don’t know what to do and believe others do

127
Q

What is group think and how can it be prevented?

A

when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

make group members state their own opinions

128
Q

What is social loafing?

A
129
Q

What is social constructionism?

A

Agreed upon, shared meanings

For example, the idea that pink is for girls and blue is for boys is an example of a social construct related to gender and the color of items.

130
Q

What is functionalism?

A

A perspective that analyzes how how social structures work together to maintain equilibrium

131
Q

What is the difference between a primary reinforcer/punisher and a secondary reinforcer/punisher?

A

Primary: Innate (praise, food, spanking, electric shock)

Secondary: Learned (money, good grades, bad grades, speeding ticket)

132
Q

Are taste aversions long or short term?

A

Long term

133
Q

What is a confounding variable?

A

a third variable that influences both the independent and dependent variables

In your caffeine study, for example, it is possible that the students who received caffeine also had more sleep than the control group. Or, the experimental group may have spent more time overall preparing for the exam.

134
Q

What is spreading of activation theory?

A

when the representation of a concept is activated in memory, the activation spreads to concepts that are semantically or associatively related to it

135
Q

What is Piaget’s concrete development stage?

A

The development of organized and rational thinking. THe same amount of water in a tall beaker versus and wider/shorter beaker.

7-11 years old

136
Q

Difference between the somatic vs autonomic nervous system?

A

The somatic nervous system consists of nerves that go to the skin and muscles and is involved in conscious activities. The autonomic nervous system consists of nerves that connect the CNS to the visceral organs such as the heart, stomach, and intestines. It mediates unconscious activities.

137
Q

What is optimal arousal theory and how does it work?

A

Optimal arousal theory states that optimal performance requires optimal arousal and that arousal levels that are too high or too low will impede performance

138
Q

Sympathetic vs parasympathetic responses

A
139
Q

What is Seyle’s GAS?

A

An organism’s stress response always follows a similar course, regardless of the exact nature of the stressor

140
Q

What is Chunking?

A

The recoding of smaller units of information into larger, familiar units. Chunking is often assumed to help bypassing the limited capacity of working memory (WM).

141
Q

what is a reference group?

A

a group to which an individual or another group is compared, used by sociologists in reference to any group that is used by an individual as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior.

142
Q

Differences between dyadic and triadic groups?

A

larger groups (triads) are generally considered more stable but less intimate, whereas smaller groups (dyads) are usually considered less stable but more intimate.

the triadic group provides the advantage of added stability in group dynamics.

143
Q

What are Neighborhood-level socioeconomic inequalities?

A

Closed networks and social boundaries that can exist across neighborhoods that will impact physician-patient interactions when the physician and patient have different experiences from living in distinct, and often very socially separated, neighborhoods.

144
Q

Who is Paul Broca?

A

Demonstrated that specific functional impairments could be related to brain lesions in a certain area of the brain

145
Q

Who is Pierre Flourens?

A

removed parts of brain to see how the brain functioned as a whole

146
Q

Who is Franz Gall?

A

An increase in the size of the brain indicated that a trait was well developed in that area

147
Q

Who is Sir Charles Sherrington?

A

First inferred the existence of Synapses

148
Q

What is the hindbrain responsible for?

A

motor control and reflexes

149
Q

What is the midbrain responsible for?

A

sensorimotor reflexes that promote survival (auditory, visual perception)

150
Q

What is the forebrain responsible for?

A

Emotion, memory, higher order cognition

151
Q

What is the main role of the temporal lobe?

A

responsible for interpreting sounds from the ears and plays a significant role in recognizing and using language.

152
Q

What part of the brain deals with homeostasis and emotion?

A

The Hypothalamus

153
Q

What part of the brain is responsible for maintaining posture and balance?

A

The cerebellum

154
Q

What part of the brain is responsible for unconscious processes and jobs, such as your sleep-wake cycle and breathing?

A

The Pons

155
Q

What part of the brain is responsible for the relay of sensory information?

A

The Thalamus

156
Q

Which hemisphere is dominant?

A

The left hemisphere.

157
Q

What are catecholamines?

A

Epinephrine, Norepinephrine, dopamine

“fight or flight response”

158
Q

What does the adrenal cortex produce?

A

estrogen and testosterone

159
Q

What does the pineal gland do?

A

Regulates melatonin and sleep cycles

Daniel's MCAT Flashcards (7 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions