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
