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MCAT Quicksheets > Behavioral Sciences > Flashcards

Behavioral Sciences Flashcards

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1
Q

Parasympathetic (rest and digest)

A

Constricts pupils, stimulates flow of saliva, constricts bronchi, slows the heartbeat, stimulates peristalsis and secretion, stimulates bile release, contracts bladder

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2
Q

Sympathetic (fight or flight)

A

Dilates pupils, inhibits salvation, relaxes bronchi, accelerates the heartbeat, piloerection or sweating, inhibits peristalsis and secretion, stimulates glucose production and release, secretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline, inhibits bladder contraction, stimulates orgasm

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3
Q

NS neurons

A

Motor (efferent), interneurons, and sensory (afferent)

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4
Q

Hindbrain

A

Contains the cerebellum, medulla, oblongata, and reticular formation

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5
Q

Midbrain

A

Contains the inferior and superior colliculi

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6
Q

Forebrain

A

Contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, limbic system, and cerebral cortex

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7
Q

Thalamus

A

Relay station for sensory information

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8
Q

Hypothalamus

A

Maintains homeostasis and integrates with the endocrine system through the hypophyseal portal system that connects it to the anterior pituitary

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9
Q

Basal ganglia

A

Smoothens movements and helps maintain postural stability

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10
Q

Limbic system

A

Controls emotion and memory
Includes septal nuclei (pleasure-seeking), amygdala (fear and aggression), hippocampus (memory), and fornix (communication within limbic system)

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11
Q

Frontal

A

Executive function, impulse control, long-term planning (prefrontal cortex), motor function (primary motor cortex), speech production (Broca’s area)

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12
Q

Parietal

A

Sensation of touch, pressure, temperature, and pain (somatosensory cortex); spatial processing, orientation, and manipulation

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13
Q

Occipital

A

Visual processing

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14
Q

Temporal

A

Sound processing (auditory cortex), speech perception (Wernicke’s area), memory, and emotion (limbic system)

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15
Q

Methods for mapping the brain

A

EEG, rCBF, CT, PET, MRI, fMRI

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16
Q

Acetylcholine

A

Voluntary muscle control, parasympathetic NS, attention, alertness

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17
Q

Epinephrine and norepinephrine

A

Fight-or-flight responses, wakefulness, alertness

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18
Q

Dopamine

A

Smooth movements, postural stability

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19
Q

Serotonin

A

Mood, sleep, eating, dreaming

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20
Q

GABA, Glycine

A

Brain “stabilization”

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21
Q

Glutamate

A

Brain “excitation”

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22
Q

Endorphins

A

Natural painkillers

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23
Q

Weber’s law

A

States that the just-noticeable difference for a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus, and this proportion is constant over most of the range of possible stimuli

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24
Q

Signal detection theory

A

Studies the effects of nonsensory factors, such as experiences, motives, and expectations, on perception of stimuli

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25
Q

Visual pathway

A

Retina - optic nerve - optic chiasm - optic tracts - lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of thalamus - visual radiations - visual cortex

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26
Q

Cochlea

A

Detects sound

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27
Q

Utricle and saccule

A

Detect linear acceleration

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28
Q

Semicircular canals

A

Detect rotational acceleration

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29
Q

Auditory pathway

A

Cochlea - vestibulocochlear nerve - medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) of thalamus - auditory cortex

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30
Q

Drive reduction theory

A

Individuals act to relieve internal states of tension

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31
Q

James-Lange

A

Stimulus - physiology - emotion

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32
Q

Cannon-Bard

A

Stimulus - physiology and emotion

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33
Q

Schacter-Singer

A

Stimulus - physiology and cognitive appraisal - emotion

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34
Q

Primary appraisal

A

Classifying a potential stressor as irrelevant, benign-positive, or stressful

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35
Q

Secondary appraisal

A

Directed at evaluating whether the organism can cope with the stress, based on harm, threat, and challenge

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36
Q

General adaptation syndrome (GAP)

A

Alarm, resistance, and exhaustion

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37
Q

Self-concept

A

The sum of the ways in which we describe ourselves: in the present, who we used to be, and who we might be in the future

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38
Q

Self-efficacy

A

The degree to which we see ourselves as being capable of a given skill in a given situation

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39
Q

Locus of control

A

A self-evaluation that refers to the way we characterize the influences in our lives. Either internal (success or failure is a result of our own actions) or external (success or failure is a result of outside factors)

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40
Q

Freud

A

Psychosexual development based on tensions caused by the libido, with failure at any given stage leading to fixation

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41
Q

Schizophrenia

A

Psychotic disorder characterized by distortions of reality and disturbances in content and form of thought, perception, and behavior
Positive symptoms: hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thought
Negative symptoms: Social withdrawal, emotional flattening, anhedonia (lack of pleasure)

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42
Q

Major depressive disorder

A

Contains at least one major depressive episode

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43
Q

Persistent depressive disorder

A

A depressed mood (either dysthymia or major depression) for at least two years

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44
Q

Bipolar I disorder

A

Contains at least one manic episode

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45
Q

Bipolar II disorder

A

Contains at least one hypomanic episode and at least one major depressive episode

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46
Q

Cyclothymic disorder

A

Contains hypomanic episodes with dysthymia

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47
Q

Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning development

A
  • Describes the approaches of individuals to resolving moral dilemmas
  • Six stages are divided into three main phases: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional
48
Q

Zone of proximal development

A

Area of learning where one cannot progress on their own, but can with assistance from a “knowledgeable other”

49
Q

Generalized anxiety disorder

A

Constant disproportionate and persistent worry

50
Q

Social anxiety disorder

A

Anxiety due to social or performance situations

51
Q

Agoraphobia

A

Fear of places or situations where it is hard for an individual to escape

52
Q

Panic disorder

A

Recurrent attacks of intense, overwhelming fear and sympathetic nervous system activity with no clear stimulus; it may lead to agoraphobia

53
Q

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

A

Obsessions (persistent, intrusive thoughts and impulses) and compulsions (repetitive tasks that relieve tension but cause significant impairment)

54
Q

Body dysmorphic disorder

A

Unrealistic negative evaluation of one’s appearance or a specific body part

55
Q

Dissociative amnesia

A

Inability to recall past experience. May involve dissociate fugue, a sudden change in location that can involve the assumption of a new identity

56
Q

Dissociative identity disorder

A

Two or more personalities that take control of behavior

57
Q

Depersonalization/derealization disorder

A

Feelings of detachment from the mind and body, or from the environment

58
Q

Psychoanalytic perspective

A

Personality results from unconscious urges and desires
Freud: id, superego, and ego
Jung: collective unconscious, archetypes

59
Q

Humanistic perspective

A

Emphasizes internal feelings of healthy individuals as they strive toward happiness and self-realization
Maslow: hierarchy of needs
Rogers: unconditional positive regard

60
Q

Type and trait theory

A

Personality can be described as a number of identifiable traits that carry characteristic behaviors
- Type theories of personality: ancient Greek humors, Sheldon’s somatotypes, division into Types A and B, and the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory
- Eysenck’s three major traits: psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism
- Trait theorists’ Big Five: OCEAN
- Allport’s three basic types of traits: cardinal, central, and secondary

61
Q

Smell

A

Detection of volatile or aerosolized chemicals by olfactory chemoreceptors (olfactory nerves)

62
Q

Taste

A

Detection of dissolved compounds by taste buds in papillae

63
Q

Somatosensation

A

Four touch modalities (pressure, vibration, pain, and temperature)

64
Q

Kinesthetic sense (proprioception)

A

Ability to tell where one’s body is in space

65
Q

Bottom-up (data-driven) processing

A

Recognition of objects by parallel processing and feature detection; slower, but less prone to mistakes

66
Q

Top-down (conceptually-driven) processing

A

Recognition of an object by memories and expectations, with little attention to detail; faster, but more prone to mistakes

67
Q

Gestalt principles

A

Ways that the brain can infer missing parts of an image when it is incomplete

68
Q

Habituation

A

The process of becoming used to a stimulus

69
Q

Dishabituation

A

Occurs when a second stimulus intervenes, causing a desensitization to the original stimulus

70
Q

Classical conditioning

A

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

71
Q

Operant conditioning

A

A form of associative learning in which the frequency of a behavior is modified using reinforcement (increases behavior) or punishment (decreases behavior)

72
Q

Behavior vs stimulus

A

Behavior stops and stimulus added: positive punishment
Behavior stops and stimulus removed: negative punishment
Behavior continues and stimulus added: positive reinforcement
Behavior continues and stimulus removed: negative reinforcement

73
Q

Sleep cycle

A

Awake: beta and alpha waves - able to perceive, process, access, and express information
Stage 1: theta waves - light sleep
Stage 2: theta waves - sleep spindles and K complexes
Stage 3/4: delta waves - slow-wave sleep; dreams; declarative memory consolidation; some sleep disorders
REM: mostly beta - appears awake physiologically; dreams; paralyzed; procedural memory consolidation; some sleep disorders

74
Q

Sleep disorders

A

Dyssomnias: amount or timing of sleep (insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and sleep deprivation)
Parasomnias: odd behaviors during sleep (night terrors and sleepwalking (somnambulism))

75
Q

Drug addiction

A

Mediated by the mesolimbic pathway, which includes the nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, and ventral tegmental area; dopamine is the neurotransmitter

76
Q

Depressants (alcohol, barbituates, benzodiazepines)

A

Sense of relaxation and reduced anxiety

77
Q

Stimulants (amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy)

A

Increased arousal

78
Q

Opiates/opioids (heroin, morphine, opium, pain pills)

A

Decreased reaction to pain; euphoria

79
Q

Hallucinogens (LSD, peyote, mescaline, ketamine, psilocybin-containing mushrooms)

A

Distortions of reality and fantasy; introspection

80
Q

Marijuana

A

Has some features of depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens (in very high doses)

81
Q

Memory pathway

A

Sensory (< 1 sec), short-term (< 1 min), working memory, long-term memory (lifetime)
Long-term: implicit (unconscious) - procedural (skills, tasks), explicit (conscious) - declarative (facts, events) – episodic (events, experiences) - semantic (facts, concepts)

82
Q

Facts are stored via

A

Semantic networks. Retrieval of information is often based on priming interconnected nodes of the semantic network

83
Q

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

A

Sensorimotor: focuses on manipulating the environment to meet physical needs through circular reactions; object permanence ends this stage
Preoperational: focuses on symbolic thinking, egocentrism (inability to imagine what another person thinks or feels), and centration (focusing on only one aspect of a phenomenon)
Concrete operational: focuses on understanding the feelings of others and manipulating physical (concrete) objects
Formal operational: focuses on abstract thought and problem-solving

84
Q

Problem-solving techniques

A

Trail-and-error, algorithm, deductive reasoning (deriving conclusions from general rules), and inductive reasoning (deriving generalizations from evidence)

85
Q

Decision-making

A

Heuristics (simplified principles used to make decisions, “rules of thumb”), biases, intuition, and emotions
Can lead to erroneous or problematic decisions

86
Q

Divided attention

A

Uses automatic processing to pay attention to multiple activities at one time

87
Q

Wernicke’s area

A

Language comprehension; damage results in Wernicke’s aphasia (speak fluently but have difficulty understanding language)

88
Q

Broca’s area

A

Motor function of speech; damage results in Broca’s aphasia (speak comprehensibly in short sentences with great effort)

89
Q

Arcuate fasciculus

A

Connects Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas; damage results in conduction aphasia (inability to repeat words despite intact speech generation and comprehension)

90
Q

Arousal theory (Yerkes-Dodson law)

A

The state of being awake and reactive to stimuli; aim for optimal level of arousal for a given task

91
Q

Somatic symptom disorder

A

At least one somatic symptom, which may or may not be linked to an underlying medical condition, that causes disproportionate concern

92
Q

Illness anxiety disorder

A

Preoccupation with having or coming down with a serious medical condition

93
Q

Conversion disorder

A

Unexplained symptoms affecting motor or sensory function

94
Q

Personality disorders

A

Cluster A (odd, eccentric): paranoid, schizotypal, schizoid
Cluster B (dramatic, emotional, erratic, “wild”): antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic
Cluster C (anxious, fearful, “worried”): avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive

95
Q

Social facilitation

A

Tendency to perform at a different level (better or worse) when others are around

96
Q

Deindividuation

A

Loss of self-awareness in large groups; can lead to drastic changes in behavior

97
Q

Bystander effect

A

In a group, individuals are less likely to respond to a person in need

98
Q

Group polarization

A

Tendency toward making decisions in a group that are more extreme than the thoughts of the individual group members

99
Q

Group think

A

Tendency to make decisions based on ideas and solutions that arise within the group without considering outside ideas

100
Q

Socialization

A

The process of developing and spreading norms, customs, and beliefs

101
Q

Compliance

A

Individuals change behavior based on the request of other; techniques for gaining compliance include foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, lowball, and that’s-not-all

102
Q

Display rules

A

Unspoken rules that govern the expression of emotion

103
Q

Impression management

A

Maintenance of a public image through various strategies

104
Q

Dramaturgical approach

A

Individuals create images of themselves in the same way that actors perform a role in front of an audience

105
Q

Interpersonal attraction

A

Influenced by physical, social, and psychological factors

106
Q

Altruism

A

Helping behavior in which the person’s intent is to benefit someone else at personal cost

107
Q

Correspondent inference theory

A

Describes attributions made by observing the intentional (especially unexpected) behaviors performed by another person

108
Q

Fundamental attribution theory

A

Bias toward making dispositional attributions rather than situational attributions

109
Q

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A

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

110
Q

Cultural relativism

A

Studying social groups and cultures on their own terms

111
Q

Functionalism

A

Macro-level theory focused on how parts of society work together

112
Q

Conflict theory

A

Focuses on how unequal division of resources create power differentials

113
Q

Symbolic interactionism

A

The study of how individuals interact through a shared understanding of words, gestures, and other symbols

114
Q

Social constructionism

A

Explores how individuals and groups make decisions to agree upon a given social reality

115
Q

Socioeconomic status (SES)

A

Class, power, social capital (the investment people make in society in return for economic or collective rewards), social production (passing on of social inequality, especially poverty, to other generations)

116
Q

Incidence

A

New cases / population at risk (per time)

117
Q

Prevalence

A

Number of cases (new or old) / total population (per time)

MCAT Quicksheets (6 decks)

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