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MCAT integrated > MCAT Psychology > Flashcards

MCAT Psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

Solomon Asche is famous for his study on

A
  • conformity
  • Asch presented subjects with pictures of three lines of different lengths and asked them to match one of the lines to a line that he had on a separate card. Although one choice was obviously correct, when confederates in the room selected the incorrect choice, subjects often selected the clearly incorrect choice as well. Asch argued that this was due to the pressure to conform.
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2
Q

Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo are known for studying

A

for their obedience to authority projects

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3
Q

Leon Festinger and James Carlsmith are known for

A

cognitive dissonance research

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4
Q

define cognitive dissonance

A

Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling of discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance etc

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5
Q

define oveergeneralization

A

an individual comes to a conclusion based on one episode or bit of evidence.

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6
Q

describe Emile Durkheim’s functionalism

A

critical: collective consciousness, rules, values
- Functionalism discourages people from changing the status quo because this theory emphasizes the idea of stability through the universal agreement to abide by the norms of society

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7
Q

Social loafing describes a phenomenon in which

A

individuals exert less effort when working as part of a group

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8
Q 
Which idea best explains why children believe in gender differences that are similar to those their parents perceive?
A. 	Social facilitation
    B. 	Socialization 
    C. 	Social loafing
    D. 	Social support
A

-Socialization is the process by which individuals learn the norms, roles, customs and values of the social group to which they belong; as children grow up, their parents influence them and teach them the social norms of their society, which causes children to acquire mindsets similar to those of their parents (choice B is correct)

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9
Q 
With no interest in social relationships, a patient spends most of his time daydreaming alone in his room. According to the patient’s parent, this individual seems detached and is indifferent to social norms and conventions. This patient most likely has which of the following personality disorders?
A. 	Antisocial personality disorder
    B. 	Schizoid personality disorder 
    C. 	Histrionic personality disorder
    D. 	Avoidant personality disorder
A

B is correct. Individuals with schizoid personality disorder are indifferent, aloof, withdrawn, and often preoccupied with fantasy and/or excessive daydreaming B is correct

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10
Q

Describe Individuals with antisocial personality disorder

A

deceitful attitude and show no remorse when abusing others,

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11
Q

Gestalt Psychology

A

we are in fact likely to perceive a three-dimensional object rather than a bunch of lines and shapes; a fundamental element of Gestalt is the idea that our brains will perceive objects in certain ways because of higher-level processing and organization of sensory information
- Another fundamental Gestalt element is the idea that our brains can easily “flip” back and forth between two options for an ambiguous image

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12
Q

adaptation

A

decrease in response to a stimulus over time

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13
Q

Gestalt principles

A
  • ways the brain can infer missing parts of a picture when a picture is incomplete
  • -> law of proximity: elements close together look like one unit
  • -> law of similarity: similar objects get grouped togethr
  • -> law of good continuation
  • -> subjective contours
  • -> law of closure
  • -> law of pragnanz
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14
Q

Long term potentiation

A
  • responsible for conversion of short-term to long-term memory
  • strengthening of neuronal connections resulting from increased neurotransmitter release and addition of receptor sites
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15
Q

Stage’s of Piaget’s cognitive development in order

A

1st: sensorimotor
2nd: preoperational
3rd: concrete operational
4th: formal operational

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16
Q

which of Piaget’s cognitive developmental stages focuses on abstract thought and problem-solving??

A

formal operational stage

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17
Q

which of Piaget’s cognitive developmental stages does object permanence end?

A

sensorimotor

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18
Q

which of Piaget’s cognitive developmental stages focuses on understanding the feelings of others and manipulating objects?

A

concrete oprational

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19
Q

what waves on the EEG will predominate when a person is alert?

A

Beta and alpha waves

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20
Q

Stage 1 (light sleep)

A

-theta waves on EEG

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21
Q

Stage 2 (slightly deeper sleep)

A

-theta waves, sleep spindles and K complex

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22
Q

STages 3 and 4 (deep sleep, Slow wave sleep)

A
  • delta waves predominate on EEG
  • most sleep disorders occur during 3 and 4 non-REM sleep
  • dreaming in SWS consolidates declarative memories
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23
Q

REM sleep

A
  • eye movements and body paralysis

- dreaming consolidates procedural memories

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24
Q

Depressants

A
  • include alcohol, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines

- mimic or promote GABA activity in brain

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25
Q

Drug addiction pathway

A
  • mimics mesolimbic pathway
  • Dopamine is main neurotransmitter
  • includes the nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, and ventral tegmental area
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26
Q

what connects the Broca and Wernicke’s area?

A

arcuate fasciculus

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27
Q

Kohlberg

A
  • stages of moral development

- preconventional (children), conventional(most adults), and postconventional (advanced moral reasoning)

28
Q

zone of proximal development

A
  • described by Vygotsky

- skills that a child has not yet mastered and requires a more knowledgeable other to accomplish

29
Q

schizophrenia

A
  • must show signs of disturbance for at least 6 months and mist have at least 1 month of “active symptoms”
  • positive and negative symptoms
  • MCAT likely to connect to downward drift hypothesis, which states that schizo leads to decline in socioeconomic status which leads to worse symptoms (negative spiral)
  • associated with excess dopamine in brain
30
Q

Major Depressive Disorder

A
  • mood disorder characterized by at least one major depressive episode (period of at least 2 weeks with SIG E. CAPS symptoms)
  • SLeep
  • Interest
  • Guilt
  • Energy
  • Concentration
  • Appetite
  • Psychomotor symptoms
  • Suicidal thoughts
31
Q

What do SSRI’s help treat?

A

Depression

32
Q

Before a clinician diagnoses anxiety disorders, he needs to rule out

A

hyperthyroidism

33
Q

The 3 Clusters of personality disorders

A

Cluster A- Wierd
Cluster B- WIld
CLuster C-Worried

34
Q

schizotypal personality disorder

A
  • pattern of odd or eccentric thinking

- ideas of reference or magical thinking or superstitions

35
Q

schizoid personality disorder

A
  • pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships
  • restricted range of emotional expression
  • poor social skills
36
Q

Antisocial personality disorder

A

disregard for and violation of rights of others

  • illegal acts and lack of remorse
  • serial killers
37
Q

Borderline personality disorder

A
  • pervasive instability in mood, behavior, and self-image
  • intense fear of abandonment
  • splitting (all good or all evil)
  • self-mutilation
38
Q

Histrionic personality disorder

A
  • constant attention seeking

- wear colorful clothing are dramatic nd extroverted

39
Q

Cognitive model of depression

A

which suggests that depressed people have an attentional bias towards negative stimuli and away from positive stimuli.

40
Q

Social reproduction occurs when

A

social inequality is passed down to future generations

41
Q

Humanistic psychology is associated with:
Carl Rogers
Erik Erikson
person-centered therapy

A

I and III only Correct Answer:
Item I is true: Carl Rogers is considered the founder of the humanistic approach to psychology (choice C can be eliminated). Item II is false: Erik Erikson is affiliated with the psychoanalytic perspective, and his theory of psychosocial development includes eight stages that extend from birth to death (choice D can be eliminated). Item III is true: the humanistic psychological approach is associated with person-centered therapy, as developed by Carl Rogers. The goal of this therapeutic approach is to develop mutual trust and regard between the client and the therapist, and to allow the client to develop a sense of self and an understanding of how attitudes, feelings, and behaviors are impacting his or her life (choice A can be eliminated and choice B is correct).

42
Q

Erik Erikson is associated with

A

Erik Erikson is affiliated with the psychoanalytic perspective, and his theory of psychosocial development includes eight stages that extend from birth to death

43
Q

A youth who does not take responsibility for his actions but rather blames others (e.g., “it wasn’t my fault that I beat that guy up; he looked at my girlfriend funny”) is committing the:

fundamental attribution error

actor/observer bias

self-serving bias

A

Item II is true: the actor/observer bias occurs when individuals attribute their own actions to situational causes, as opposed to dispositional factors. In this instance, the youth is blaming the situation (i.e.,someone else did something that caused him to act). Item III is true: the tendency to blame others for one’s own actions and not take responsibility for failures is known as the self-serving bias. In this instance, the youth is not taking responsibility for his actions and is blaming someone else

44
Q

the fundamental attribution error occurs

A

when an individual underestimates the influence of situational factors on another’s actions and tends to attribute other people’s actions to their personalities.

45
Q

The statement that men in our society are more capable than women are of drawing on social networks that are useful to locate employment and to rise up the “corporate ladder” most aligns with the:
. A. conflict perspective.
B. functionalist perspective.
C. symbolic interactionist perspective.
D. social constructionist perspective.

A

A. Conflict theory views societies in a framework of class conflicts and views the domination of one group by another group as an integral aspect of social order. Since the statement focuses on inequality it aligns with the conflict perspective (choice A is correct).

46
Q

Social constructionism is a theory of knowledge that focuses on

A

how individuals and groups contribute to the construction of their perceived society.

47
Q

What did Emile Durkheim believe about crime?

A. 	A society without crime is impossible. 
B. 	As sociologists continue to learn more about crime, they will eventually be able to suggest social changes that will help eliminate crime.
C. 	Crime is essentially abnormal. 
D. 	All forms of crime are normal.
A

A. Durkheim believed that crime is present in every society; it cannot, and should not, be eliminated (choice A is correct).Although he viewed crime as basically normal, Durkheim acknowledged that some forms of crime can be abnormal

48
Q

Attribution theory concerns

A

the tendency to attribute others’ actions to internal causes (personality traits), while attributing one’s own behavior to external factors. T

49
Q

A patient’s symptoms include poor oral and written comprehension, but fluent and reasonably grammatical speech output. Which of the following is the most probable diagnosis?

A

Wernicke’s aphasia occurs in patients who have a damaged Wernicke’s area in the posterior temporal lobe of the left hemisphere. Patients with Wernicke’s aphasia can produce fluent and grammatical speech, though it tends to have no meaning. They also have difficulty comprehending language

50
Q

Parents act as agents of:

A

A. socialization in society. Correct Answer

51
Q

Retrograde amnesia impacts memory of

A

previously-learned information. Retrograde amnesia involves the loss of memories from before (retro) the onset of disease or a brain injury.

52
Q

A fixed-ratio schedule provides reinforcement

A

after a set number of instances of the behavior

53
Q

Suppose a child receives a highly desirable reward from his parents for every five homework assignments that he completes. What type of reward schedule is this and what impact should it have on the child’s behavior?

A. 	Fixed interval; the child should demonstrate a high rate of response, meaning that he is likely to diligently complete his homework assignments in a fairly consistent manner in the hopes of reaching five completed assignments and obtaining his reward.
B. 	Fixed interval; the child should demonstrate an increased rate of response as the reward nears, meaning that he is likely to slack off initially, but as he gets closer to completing his fifth homework assignment he will work harder and faster. Your Answer
C. 	Fixed ratio; the child should demonstrate an increased rate of response as the reward nears, meaning that he is likely to slack off initially, but as he gets closer to completing his fifth homework assignment he will work harder and faster.
D. 	Fixed ratio; the child should demonstrate a high rate of response, meaning that he is likely to diligently complete his homework assignments in a fairly consistent manner in the hopes of reaching five completed assignments and obtaining his reward.
A

D.If a fixed-ratio schedule is utilized, the child should demonstrate a fairly high rate of response, meaning that he is likely to consistently complete his five homework assignments in anticipation of his reward

54
Q

A fixed-interval schedule provides reinforcement after

A

a set amount of time. If a fixed-interval schedule is utilized, the child should demonstrate an increasing rate of response as the reward nears, meaning that he is likely to slack off initially, but as he gets closer to the designated time that the reward should be delivered, he will work harder and faster

55
Q

Which of the following is most likely to result in prolonged cognitive dissonance?

a. ) a divorced and lonely man who is told that “there is someone for everyone”
b. ) a meat-eater deciding to try not eating meat for awhile
c. ) a person who had believed a falsehood is given conclusive evidence proving their belief wrong

A

a.) cognitive dissonance is the act of balancing contradictory beliefs

56
Q

what region of the eye allows for high visual acuity?

A

the fovea of the retina for its high density of cones present in the center of the macula of the retina

57
Q

define retroactive interference

A

when new information causes the forgetting of older information

58
Q

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates dishabituation?

a. ) an employee who is constantly scolded loses motivation to work
b. ) a firefighter loses his fear of burning buildings after 5 years on the job
c. ) a teacher burns out over time, but is then reinspired by a speech from his boss

A

c. dishabituation is process by which the diminshed response to a stimulus (habituation) from repeated exposure actually gets reversed!!

59
Q

Describe Primary Drive Theory

A

motivation described as the fulfillment of a basic physiological need like eating sleeping or drinking to reduce

60
Q

Korsakoff’s Syndrome

A

is characterized by inaccurate memories

61
Q

Habitual amphetamine use that damages dopamine reuptake mechanisms is most likely to produce effects similar to what psychological disorder?

A

schizophrenia:

too much dopamine will result in psychosis similar to schizophrenia

62
Q

Name the 3 components of attitude

A

A:Affective- emotional feel
B: behavorial- how one would act

C: Cognitive: how an individual thinks about something

63
Q

what is a primary circular reaction during the sensorimotor stage?

A

circular refers to repetitive and primary refers to the fact that it is soothing to the child

64
Q

what is a secondary circular reaction during the sensorimotor stage?

A

a repettive action that impacts the environment

65
Q

What structure is involved with coordination of eye movement?

A

the superior colliculi

66
Q

Lateral Geniculate nucleus-

A

-the main relayer of visual information to the occipital lobe of brain

MCAT integrated (3 decks)

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