MCAT Psych/Soc Flashcards
What is parallel play?
Parallel Play = Children play by themselves but observe other children playing and adjust their behavior in response (common in younger children)
What are the definitions of socialization, resocialization, and assimilation?
*Socialization = Process of internalizing social norms and values expected in one’s society and mass media *Resocialization = Process through which we get rid of old behaviors in order to take on new ones *Assimilation = Occurs when an individual from one culture gradually takes on characteristics of another culture
What is the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion?
Cannon-Bard Theory: Cognitive and physiological responses to a stimulus occur simultaneously and independently of one another, with a behavioral response following them
What is the James-Lange theory of emotion?
James-Lange Theory: A stimulus triggers a physiological response, which then leads to the subjective, conscious experience of emotion
What is the Schacter-Singer Theory of emotion?
Schacter-Singer Theory: A stimulus first leads to physiological arousal, then a cognitive interpretation of the circumstances, and finally a perception of emotion
What is the pre-operational stage of Piaget’s stages of development? When does this stage occur?
Pre-Operational Stage = Occurs from ages 2-7; Children learn to operate symbolically and engage in a lot of symbolic play
What are the definitions of reliability and validity?
*Reliability = How consistent and repeatable an experiment is *Validity = Measure of how well a given experiment actually measures what it sets out to measure (accuracy)
What are the 3 main high-level sociological theories and what are they?
1) Symbolic Interactionism = Focuses on symbolic meaning people develop and rely upon in social interactions 2) Conflict theory = Emphasizes the role of coercion and power in producing social order 3) Functionalism = Views society as a system of interconnected parts that carry out a specific role that enables them to cooperate to maintain social equilibrium for society as a whole
Give definitions of the following psychological theories: Maslow’s Self-actuvalization Theory, Freud’s superego theory, Skinner’s operant conditioning theory, Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory
*Maslow’s Self-actuvalization Theory = Self-actualization is a level of high achievement, in which you’ve done all you can and accomplished your goals to the best of your ability *Freud’s superego theory = Supergo is aspect of subconscious that emphasizes moral behavior *Skinner’s operant conditioning theory = Based on idea that reward and punishment guide behavior *Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory = Suggests that incongruence between beliefs and behaviors guide behavior change
What are the definitions of cultural relativism, ethnocentrism, and altruism
*Cultural Relativism = Principle that a person’s beliefs and health behaviors should be understood in context of their own culture *Ethnocentrism = Idea that your own culture is better than someone else’s *Altruism = Selflessness and concern for others
What are the definitions of Mores, folkways, and taboos?
*Mores = Norms that are deemed highly necessary to the welfare of society and have consequences if violated *Folkways = Norms that govern everyday behavior *Taboos = Considered unacceptable by almost every culture
What are definitions of the following: Experimental design, case control design, retrospective cohort design, longitudinal cohort design?
*Experimental design = Diff groups who are randomly assigned to diff conditions *Case control design = Compares individuals with a disease to individuals without a disease *Retrospective cohort design = Takes group of individuals and asks them about their experiences in the past *Longitudinal cohort design = Group of students was followed over a period of time
What are the 2 major types of kinship?
1) Kinship of Affinity = Kinship due to marriage (no blood relationship) 2) Consanguineal Kinship = Based on blood, or genetic, relationship
Who is Sigmund Freud? What psych concepts was he best known for?
The “father of psychoanalysis,” developed well-known theories focused on unconscious desires. Freud’s work centered around his ideas of the id (one’s largely unconscious set of primal urges), superego (one’s sense of moral purpose), and ego (the logic-based, more conscious balance between the two). Freud put his theories into practice in psychoanalytic therapy, a process in which a psychologist or other therapist converses with a patient one-on-one to address certain mental or emotional issues
Who is BF Skinner? What psych concepts was he best known for?
B. F. Skinner was an early behaviorist, meaning that he systematically studied behavior in conjunction with other factors (environmental, motivational, etc.). Skinner is best known for his work in operant conditioning, where he used a device called a “Skinner box” to study the effects of rewards and punishments on behavior
Who is Gordon Allport? What psych concepts was he best known for?
Allport is known for his studies of personality, where he outlined a form of trait theory that included three basic types of traits: cardinal traits, central traits, and secondary traits. Cardinal traits are those around which people organize their entire lives. In contrast, central traits are defining characteristics of a person that can be easily inferred from that person’s behavior. Finally, secondary traits are those that only occur sometimes, particularly when a person is in a certain social situation
What is John B. Waton’s Little Albert Experiment?
Watson’s Little Albert experiment involved the use of classical conditioning and stimulus generalization to cause a healthy young boy to fear furry animals and objects
Who is Solomon Asch? What psych concepts was he best known for?
Asch’s conformity experiment demonstrated that individuals often conform to a group view, even when the group view differs from a clearly correct answer. Asch used a task in which a participant, along with several of Asch’s confederates, were told to judge the relative lengths of drawn lines. The confederates would give a clearly-incorrect opinion regarding which line was shorter or longer, causing the participant (who did not know that the others in the room were “in on it”) to conform to this incorrect view in some cases
Who is Albert Bandura? What psych concepts was he best known for?
A social cognitive psychologist who famously conducted his “Bobo doll” experiments, which showed that children can display observational learning for aggressive behavior when they watch adults exhibit such behavior.
Who is Zombardo? What psych concepts was he best known for?
Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment focused on the effects of power and authority on individuals. Participants designated as “guards” were given power over participants designated as “prisoners,” and over time, the guards began to exhibit progressively more abusive and problematic behavior
Who is Milgram? What psych concepts was he best known for?
Milgram’s electric shock experiment also relates to authority. This experiment indicated that participants were willing to administer painful stimuli to others if instructed to do so by an authority figure. In reality, the “others” in the study were actors who were simply pretending to be shocked
Who is Abraham Maslow? What psych concepts was he best known for?
Famously developed Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a schematic of human needs in order from the most basic (food, water, etc.) to the most high-level (self-actualization)
Who is Hans Eysenck? What psych concepts was he best known for?
Considers personality differences to be the result of biological factors
Who is Harry Harlow? What psych concepts was he best known for?
Examined parent/child attachment, social isolation, and dependency in rhesus monkeys
Who is Muzafer Sherif? What psych concepts was he best known for?
Muzafer Sherif’s Robber’s Cave experiment examined the intergroup conflicts that arise in response to competition over limited resources.
What is Anomie?
Anomie = Breakdown of social bonds, such as social norms, between individuals and communities (Rapid changes in society, low levels of income, high heterogeneity)
What is the availability heuristic?
Availability Heuristic = People make judgments overly based on information that is immediately available to them
What are the functions of the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus?
*Prefrontal Cortex = Executive decision-making, such as considering risk and making choices, takes place in this area *Hippocampus = Plays important role in memory function
What are the following types of validity: Internal, external, face, content?
*Internal validity = Degree to which causal conclusions can be drawn from a study *External validity = Degree to which findings of a study are generalizable to the population as a whole *Face validity = Extent to which a study appears to assess what it is intended to assess *Content validity = Whether a study comprehensively accounts for all the relevant facets of the phenomenom it is intended to investigate
What are the following theories of emotion: Cognitive appraisal, James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Darwinian?
*Cognitive appraisal theory = Individuals make different interpretations about stimuli *James-Lange = Physical sensation precedes the emotion *Cannon-Bard = Sensation and emotion are perceived independently *Darwinian = Examined emotion from the perspective of its value in succesful reproduction
What are the following types of variables: Moderating, Mediating, Confounding, Dependent?
*Moderating Variable = One that either decreases or increases the strength of an association *Mediating Variable = One that provides a causal link between 2 variables that show a statistical relationship *Confounding Variable = One that affects 2 variables that show a relationship *Dependent Variable = Outcome variable
What are definitions of role strain and role conflict?
*Role strain = Involves a problem fitting into an existing role *Role conflict = Involves 2 roles coming into conflict
What is inclusive fitness?
Inclusive fitness = Involves an animal behaving in a way that ensures the propagation of its genes
What are Erikson’s Stages of Development?
*0-1 years = Trust vs. Mistrust, 1-3 years = Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt, 3-5 = Initiative vs. guilt, 5-12 = Industry vs. Inferiority, 13-20 = Identity vs. Role confusion, 20-40. = Intimacy vs. isolation, 40-65 = Generativity vs. Stagnation, 65+ = Integrity vs. despair
What is primary aging?
Primary Aging = Aging of biological factors and the physical body
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning = Involves shaping behavior (Testing the impact of the reward on their behavior)
What is the general adaptation syndrome? What 2 systems does this syndrome involve? What are the 3 stages?
General adaptation syndrome = Used to describe the body’s short-term and long-term reactions to stress; 2 systems = Nervous and endocrine; 3 stages: Alarm reaction, stage of resistance, stage of exhaustion
What is conflict theory?
Conflict Theory = Individuals compete with each other in society over limited resources; Some institutions rise to the top, other groups join together like a union
What is ratio level of measurement?
Ratio Level of Measurement = One in which there are a range of quantitative responses, ordered at equally-spaced intervals, starting with 0 (absence of quantity)
What is Anomie Theory? What is Relative deprivation theory?
*Anomie = Individuals who experience weakened social interactions are less likely to behave in ways that are helpful to society *Relative deprivation theory = Posits that individuals who perceive themselves as having less resources than others will often act in ways to obtain resources
What are id, ego, and superego?
*Id = Basic instinctual drives; unconscious *Ego = Deals with id’s impulses as soon as an adequate responses is found; Primarily conscious and preconscious but also unconscious *Superego = Forms organized part of personality structure and is mostly unconscious
What is the function of the Parietal lobe?
Parietal Lobe = Integrates multiple inputs of sensory information, from spatial sense and navigation (proprioception) to temperature (thermoreceptors) and touch (mechanoreceptors)
What is reciprocal determinism?
Reciprocal determinism = A person’s behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the environment
What is deindividuation?
Deindividuation = Situation where a person doesn’t feel like they are accountable for their actions based on the actions of others in the group
What is social cognitive theory?
Social cognitive theory = People learn by watching others, and if they see someone is rewarded for a behavior, they are more likely to behave that way too
What is classical conditioning and what are the components of it?
An unconditioned stimulus and the subsequent unconditioned response are used to turn a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus, causing a conditioned response
What is the function of the amygdala?
Amygdala = Responsible for regulating our perceptions of and reactions to aggression and fear
What is the looking-glass self concept?
Looking-glass self = People shaping their self-concepts based on their understanding of how others perceive them
What is the actor-observer bias?
Actor-observer bias = Blaming our own actions on external situations but the actions of others on personality
What is the social desirability bias?
Social desirability bias = People have to give socially approved responses to questions in the context of research
What is the Representativeness heuristic?
Representativeness heuristic = Tendency to make decisions about actions or events based upon our standard representations of those events
What is the Availability Heuristic?
Availability Heuristic = People make judgments overly based on information that is immediately available to them
What is Belief Bias?
Belief Bias = Tendency for people to judge things based not upon sound logic, but upon already held beliefs
What is Confirmation Bias?
Confirmation Bias = Tendency for people to focus on info that is in agreement with their beliefs rather than the info that is contrary to their beliefs
What is Attributional Bias?
Attributional Bias = Cognitive bias that refers to systematic errors made when people evaluate or try to find reasons for their own and others’ behaviors
What is intergenerational mobility?
Intergenerational mobility = Upward or downward movement in social class between 2 or more generations
What is the self-serving bias?
Self-serving bias = Tendency people have to credit their successes to themselves and their failures either on the actions of others or to situations
Are each of the following types of neurons afferent or efferent: Motor, sensory, interneurons?
Motor neurons are efferent, Sensory neurons are afferent, Interneurons are neither
What is the Expectation Bias?
Expectation Bias = When expectations influence attitudes or behavior
What is the difference between ecological validity and construct validity?
*Ecological validity = Refers to how findings from an experimental setting can be generalized to the environnmental considerations in the real world *Construct validity = Refers to whether measures actually do assess the variables they are intennded to assess
Which neurotransmitters are primarily associated with the following disorders: Major depressive disorder, Parkinson’s disease?
*Major depressive disorder = Serotonin *Parkinson’s disease = Dopamine
What is Weber’s Law?
Weber’s Law = There is a linear relationship between intensity of a stimulus and its detection
What is Differential association theory?
Differential association theory = Individuals engage in criminal choices because they are exposed to it, whereas those that do not commit crimes are not exposed to it
What is the R^2 value?
R^2 expresses how well the regression line (line of best fit) captures the data point; 1 = perfect correspondence, 0 = no correspondence
What is Wernicke’s aphasia?
Difficulty connecting meaning to language; loss of speech comprehension
What is the function of Broca’s area?
Controls physical production of speech
If a high-content/high-sensory argument is processed logically/emotionally, which brain regions are activated, respectively?
*Logically = Frontal Lobes *Emotionally = Temporal Lobes
What is referent power?
Referent Power = Individual exerts control by appealing to others’ desire to belong to a group
What is proactive interference?
Proactive interference = Existing long-term memories can interfere with the process of forming new long-term memories
What is confabulation? What disease is confabulation a symptom of?
Confabulation = Making up memories to fill in gaps and then believing that those memories are true (Symptom of Korsakoff’s)
What are declarative and nondeclarative memories? Which brain regions are responsible for each?
*Declarative = Explicit memories that must be consciously recalled with effort and focus; Hippocampus plays large role *Nondeclarative = Implicit memories for acquired skills and conditioned responses to circumstances and stimuli; also procedural memory (motor skills); Cerebellum plays large role
Which neurological disorder is characterized by a prolonged deficiency of thiamine?
Korsakoff’s syndrome
Describe state of voltage-gated channels during the relative refractory period
Na channels are de-inactivated, K channels are activated
Describe state of voltage-gated channels during the absolute refractory period
Na channels are inactivated, K channels are activated
What produces sperm?
Sertoli cells of the seminiferous tubules
What is the fundamental attribution error?
Fundamental Attribution Error = Tendency to think people are how they act
