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MCAT > Psychology 1 (complete) > Flashcards

Psychology 1 (complete) Flashcards

besides the pathways

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

all these are aides to memory. define them
mnemonic
chunking
peg word system
method of loci

A

mnemonic: using the first letter of a sentence to make a shorter version
chunking: separating long sets of something into short things (ex. telephone numbers)
peg word system: method for memorizing lists
method of loci: memorizing lists due to visual checkpoints

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2
Q

amnesia
anterograde amnesia
retrograde amnesia
dementia
prospective memory

A

amnesia: loss of memory due to brain damage
anterograde amnesia: inability to create new memories
retrograde amnesia: inability to remember previous memories
dementia: gradual decline in mental function
prospective memory: ability to remember to do something at some future time

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3
Q

automatic spreading activation

A

Said to occur when the primer is a category name and the target is an example within that category

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4
Q

category size effect

A

make the category more specific for recall
ex. “a poodle is a dog” is easily verifiable compared to “poodle is a mammal”

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5
Q

classical conditioning means what kind of response

A

instinctual responses

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6
Q

compare infant brains to adult brains

A

infant brains have the same number of neurons
more synapses
fewer glial cells

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7
Q

confabulation
misinformation effect
source monitoring errors

A

confabulation: detailed and vivid falsely created memories
misinformation effect: presentation of inaccurate post event information can cause accurate memory to be altered
source monitoring errors: source amnesia

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8
Q

does the brain ever recover from a CNS injury?

A

the brain is able to reassign certian functions from the injured part to another part
if there’s a seizure, one full hemisphere is removed to prevent damage and more seizures

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9
Q

familiarity effect

A

increase level of familiarity to increase recall
ex. “dog is a mammal” rather than saying “aardvark is a mammal”

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10
Q

habituation

A

decreased focus on a stimulus after it has been presented multiple times
ex. during an exam, somebody is clicking their pen over and over again, but after a few minutes you do not even notice

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11
Q

dishabituation

A

after the process of habituation occurs, another stimulus occurs and interrupts the process of habituation
ex. after becoming habituated to the pen clicking, someone drops a book. once you are startled by the noise, you start noticing the pen clicking again

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12
Q

sensitization

A

sensitization: opposite of habituation

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13
Q

how does emotion play a role in remembering things

A

heightened emotional states are remembered more easily

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14
Q

interference effects

A

a new memory thats similar to an old one so they clash

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15
Q

korsakoff’s syndrome
what is it caused by and how

A

caused by severe thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency
caused by chronic alcohol abuse

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16
Q

symptoms of Korsakoff’s syndrome

A

frequent vomiting
inflamed GI linings
poor eating habits

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17
Q

maintenance rehearsal vs elaborative rehearsal

A

maintenance: repetitive rehearsal of new information without thinking about meaning/context
elaborative: rehearsal of info after thinking about the meaning

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18
Q

neural plasticity

A

ability of the brain and neurons to physically change in response to stimuli

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19
Q

operant processes define:
shaping:
extinction:

A

shaping: reinforcement to induce target behavior
extinction: elimination of a behavior that has previously been acquired

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20
Q

positive vs negative recall
which is remembered more easily?
how does it work for people suffering from depression?
how does it work for older people?

A

positive memories are remember more easily; people with depression remember both equally; older adults show a stronger bias for positive vs negative memories

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21
Q

priming effect

A

presenting a related word increases recall
ex. doctor is the primer and nurse is the target

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22
Q

proactive vs retroactive interference

A

proactive: old memories interfere with the formation of new ones
retroactive: new memories interfere with recall of old ones

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23
Q

self reference effect

A

brain remembers stuff more easily when you relate it back to yourself

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24
Q

serial position effect
primacy effect
recency effect

A

serial position effect: presentation order
primacy effect: first few concepts presented is more easily remembered
recency effect: last few concepts will be remembered more easily

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25
Q

shallow vs deep processing

A

shallow: visual and/or sound processing
deep: semantic processing

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26
Q

spreading activation

A

how semantic networks process recall events; thinking one node causes you to think of connected nodes. the shorter the connection, the faster the connection speed and the stronger the connection

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27
Q

stimulus types in classical conditioning:
neutral
unconditioned
conditioned
GIVE EXAMPLES

A

neutral: something that does not elicit a response. ex. bell for the dogs
unconditioned: food presented to the dogs bc it causes salivation naturally, no learning required
conditioned: something presented that does not happen naturally (correlated with the conditioned response of salivating when hearing the bell)

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28
Q

synaptic pruning

A

weak & least frequently used synapses are pruned while the most frequently used are strengthened

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29
Q

testing effect is?

A

Test -> Learn -> Rephrase
normally testing is last but in this effect it comes before the actual learning

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30
Q

true or false: fresh long term memory is fragile

A

true: you need to be able to review this memory

31
Q

true-false effect

A

true statements are verified more quickly than false statements

32
Q

types of memories
sensory
working
short term
long term
episodic
semantic

A

sensory: information is first processed with this; short-lived
working: actively engaged memory
short term: sensory memory is converted into this for storage
long term: essentially limitless
episodic: things like your first day of school, graduation etc.;
semantic: factual stuff like algebra

33
Q

types of reinforcement
positive
negative

A

positive: giving something in order to encourage a behavior ( give a kid candy when he practices piano so that he keeps practicing)
negative: removing something in order to encourage a behavior (remove a choire if he practices so that he keeps practicing)

34
Q

types of punishment
positive
negative

A

positive: giving something to discourage behavior (giving a spanking when child arrives after curfew)
negative: removing something to discourage a behavior (take away their phone when a child arrives home after curfew)

35
Q

types of retrieval

A

recall: retrieval of memory
recognition: associating info with an existing memory
relearning: increased learning efficiency

36
Q

typicality effect

A

using a typical example to increase recall
ex. “robin is a bird” rather than saying “penguin is a bird”

37
Q

what are the three types of encoding

A

Visual: encoding of image or visual
acoustic: encoding of sound
sematic: encoding meaning and understanding of information

38
Q

What are the three types of memories

A

encoding, storage, retrieval

39
Q

what causes a person to forget

A

insufficient repetition; cramming

40
Q

what does operant conditioning entail

A

reinforcement or punishment of voluntary behavior

41
Q

what is alzheimer’s disease? what age does it affect people? what are the physiological changes (what are the two main things)?

A

-AD is a neurodegenerative disease causes memory loss, impaired cognition, and language degeneration
-usually in older people, 65+
- B-amyloid plaques OUTSIDE the cell & neurofibrillary tangles INSIDE the cell

42
Q

what is automatic vs controlled processing? give an example

A

things that you can do that takes no conscious effort
ex. walking & talking on your phone)
controlled processing is things that take thought such as solving a math problem

43
Q

what is state dependent learning

A

memory is linked to a sight sound smell taste etc

44
Q

what is the difference between memory and learning

A

memory is the storage and retrieval of information
learning is a change in behavior due to experience

45
Q

what is:
acquisition
extinction
spontaneous recovery
generalization
discrimination

A

acquisition: when a stimuli has been acquired
extinction: over time, the conditioned response will fade
spontaneous recovery: if the conditioned stimulus is reintroduced, then the response comes back
generalization: individuals will generalize a conditioned response
discrimination: when you focus on one single stimuli while ignoring others

46
Q

memory definition vs learning definition

A

memory: storage and retrieval of information
learning: long lasting change in behavior resulting from experience

47
Q

a working memory is the same as ________ memory. how long does it last?

A

short term; <30secs

48
Q

explicit vs implicit memory

A

explicit: conscious and intentional recall
implicit: automatic and unconscious recall

49
Q

what is episodic memory

A

remembering specific events or situations

50
Q

what is semantic memory

A

remembering facts and data

51
Q

fixed interval vs variable interval

A

reinforcement is provided after a fixed amount of time has passed since the last reinforcement
reinforcement is provided after an unpredictable amount of time has passed

52
Q

fixed ratio vs variable ratio

A

fixed: reinforcement is provided after a fixed number of responses have occured
variable: reinforcement is provided after an unpredictable number of responses have occured

53
Q

escape learning vs avoidance learning

A

when punishment results in leaving a bad situation
when punishment results in avoiding a bad situation altogether

54
Q

rules based processing

A

humans can become aware that conditioning is occuring, skewing the results

55
Q

latent learning

A

when humans/animals learn a behavior without a reward, and then demonstrate that behavior when a reward is presented

56
Q

biological processes

A

it’s much harder to associate a sense of nausea to a sound than a food

57
Q

instrintive drift

A

animal can ignore conditioning in the presence of a strong instinctual driver (such as food)

58
Q

what is weber’s law

A

the minimum noticeable threshold is determined by the magnitude of the original stimulus
ex. 5lb difference is much more noticeable when the original weight is 10lbs rather than 100lbs

59
Q

describe sensation and threshold in terms of sensing the enviroment

A

sensation: detection of stimuli by receptors, which connect the stimuli into electrical impulses that can be interpreted by the CNS
threshold: minimum difference between 2 stimuli that can be determined by the CNS

60
Q

sensory adaptation is (physiological/psychological) and habituation is (physiological/psychological)

A

physiological
psychological

61
Q

rods vs cones
define in terms of activity vision, concentration, and what can be seen

A

rods: low activity vision, highly concentrated, black & white
cones: high activity vision, low concentration, sees colors

62
Q

what do olfactory neurons do

A

convert ions and compounds in the air to electrical impulses that can be interpreted by the brain

63
Q

where is does the brain taste form

A

thalamus

64
Q

what is somatosensation

A

touch, texture, pain, pressure etc.

65
Q

what is kinesthetic sense

A

body positioning and relative location/movement of joints and limbs

66
Q

what is vestibular sense

A

balance and orientation

67
Q

what does converging lens in the eye results in

A

forms a real positive inverted image

68
Q

what effect does aging have episodic memory? how about semantic?

A

episodic: very sharp decline
semantic: little to no decline

69
Q

what is long term potentiation

A

the more you activate a synapse, the stronger that the synapse becomes

70
Q

what is long term depression

A

the less you activate a synapse, the weaker that synapse becomes

71
Q

what is the brain able to do after a traumatic brain injury?

A

brain is able to reassign functions that were damaged to healthy parts of the brain

72
Q

social cognitive theory

A

theory that tries to explain behavior and learning

73
Q
A

MCAT (13 decks)

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