psychology-MCAt hero

Question 1

conversion disorder

Answer 1

going blind after watching son die

Question 2

Biological bases of nervous system disorders

1. schizophrenia

Answer 2

hyperactive dopamine, over depression of D2 receptor

Question 3

Biological bases of nervous system disorders

2. Depression

Answer 3

high cortisol

abnormal levels of serotonin, dopamine and morepinephrine

Question 4

Biological bases of nervous system disorders

3. Alzheimers

Answer 4

formation of b-amyloid plaque, tangles( long strands of protein that prevent brain cells from receiving paper nutrients)

Question 5

Biological bases of nervous system disorders

4. Parkinsons

Answer 5

degeneration of substantiated nigra cells lead to low dopamine

Question 6

justification of effort Lin between attitude and behaviour

Answer 6

is a social psychology theory that proposes that individuals view a goal or endpoint as worthwhile and more favorable if they worked hard or put effort into achieving it.

example: work so fucking hard to apply to master programs (references, applications) in the mean time receive very attractive job offer, but choose to go into the masters bc of the effort to do it

person’s tendency to attribute a value to an outcome, which they had to put effort into achieving, greater than the objective value of the outcome.

Question 7

anarchy

Answer 7

a state of disorder due to absence of authority

Question 8

allegory

Answer 8

story, power or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning

Question 9

2 ways to prevent anarchy and have social control

Answer 9

informal control- unenforced social norms

formal control - laws

Question 10

conformity vs obedience

Answer 10

comformity- due to peer pressure, obedience due to authority - both changing behaviour

Question 11

group polarization vs groupthink

Answer 11

polar–> more extreme veiw

group think–> go with what group thinks

Question 12

sanctions

Answer 12

in sociology- used to enforce conformity i society - can be positive or negative

punishments for not conforming to social norms- shame or ridicule

punishment, penelty, disapline

Question 13

folkway example, more example and taboo example

Answer 13

folk–> burping at dinner table

more– going out naked

taboo– incest

Question 14

an-o-mie

Answer 14

lack of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group

lack or or the undermining (lessen the effect) of social norms

Question 15

undermining

Answer 15

lessening the effect

Question 16

perspectives of deviance (3)

Answer 16

1. differential association- associating with devient ppl causes you to become deviant
2. labeling theory- labeling ppl affects their self image and can lead them to either more conformity or deviance
3. strain theory- social structure can pressure ppl to commit crime - lower class, with all the discrimination, pressures the individual to steal

Question 17

labeling as pothead will cause ?

Answer 17

1. more conformity (stop smoking)

2. deviance (embrace the label- yup, that’s what I do)

Question 18

mass hysteria vs riot

Answer 18

MH- rumours and fears affecting a group of ppl

riots– vandalize bc not happy with society

Question 19

habituation

and dishabituation

Answer 19

out for a job, you are used to the sun so it doesn’t bother you anymore

dishabituation- come inside, grab coffee, back out - you are bothered by sun again

Question 20

neutral stimuli vs unconditioned stimuli

Answer 20

neutral = no response (bell= no response)

conditioned stimuli= bell= salivate)

unconditioned= the natural response (food= salivate)

Question 21

acquisition

extiniction

Answer 21

learning the association

losing the association

Question 22

discrimination

Answer 22

dog salivates only to pavlov ringing the bell (opposite of generilzation)

Question 23

primary reinforcer vs secondary

Answer 23

primary= natural rewards= food, drink, pleasure

secondary= unnatural rewards= money, grades

Question 24

instinctive drift

Answer 24

is the tendency of an animal to revert to unconscious and automatic behaviour that interferes with learned behaviour from operant conditioning

can’t teach a mother goose to abandon eggs

Question 25

social cognitive theory

Answer 25

we learn how to behave by observing others in society rather than trail and error

Question 26

what can affect someones self concept

Answer 26

self efficacy, self esteem, locus of control

who am I? types of identity: (race, gender, status, age, class)

Question 27

theories of identity development

Answer 27

gender

moral= kolberg–> development of moral thinking by cognitive reasoning, resolving moral dilemmas and concepts of right and wrong (1. preconventional - obedience and self-interest), 2. conventional- conformity, law and order, 3. post conventional - social contract and universal human rights)

psychosexual= Freud –> our sexuality and libido influences our psychology and manifests differently as we develop (fixation during a stage leads to problems later

psychosocial= Erikson- social interactions shape psychology. conflicts caused by social demands cause problems later on

Question 28

hawthorne effect

Answer 28

change behaviour cause ppl watching

Question 29

Korsakoff syndrome

Answer 29

B1 def, chronic memory impairment, common in alcoholics

Question 30

social interactionist theory

Answer 30

functional basis of language - a need to communicate and a desire to participate in society

biological and social

theories of language= learning, nativist, interactionist

Question 31

symbolic interactionist theory

Answer 31

study the social constructs (that a society makes) on individuals, how these constructed affect the roles of individuals

• the way ppl interact through shared understanding of words, symbols and social constructs

Question 32

symbolic interactionist perspective on segregation in schools?

Answer 32

would be something like segregation enforces labels on ppl making them less likely to fulfill there potential beyond the role

Question 33

construst validity

Answer 33

if an experiment doesn’t actually test the situation that it purports to test than it lacks construct validity

good construct validity- high degree of validity in testing what it actually claims

Question 34

Kohlberg stages of moral reasoning

Answer 34

as our cognitive ability grow, we can think about things in a different way –> moral reasoning

3 stages: preconventional, conventional and post conventional

within each–> 2 stages

Question 35

kolberg preconventional

Answer 35

obedience- fear of punishment

self-interest; desire to gain award

Question 36

kolberg conventional

Answer 36

conformity- seek approval from others

law and order- if everyone stole, than society outdent function

Question 37

kolberg post-conventional

Answer 37

social contract- individual rights areall unique and can be changed- everyone has the right o live - In Stage five (social contract driven), the world is viewed as holding different opinions, rights, and values. Such perspectives should be mutually respected as unique to each person or community. Laws are regarded as social contracts rather than rigid edicts

the individual acts with an understanding that laws are created by people coming together for the common good, and that these same people can change these laws if new demands or conditions arise.

universal human ethics- abstract principles (bribing a teacher for good grades “just feels wrong”

Question 38

looking-glass self

Answer 38

“self” grows out of social interacts and perceptions pf others, a persons self-concept is based on what they think others feel about them - based on social setting not solidarity

you’re friends see you as funny. Your boss sees you as lazy. Your ex sees you as dumb. Your looking-glass self is a combination of all of these different perceived versions of you by other people.

Question 39

fixation in this stage lead to intense dependency later on

Answer 39

oral stage

Question 40

fixation leads t excessive orderliness or sloppiness

Answer 40

anal stage

Question 41

Erickson vs kolberg

Answer 41

Erickson - social interactions shape psychology - a series of crisis that come from conflicts between needs and social demands.

kohlberg- doesn’t focus on the resolving of conflicts or urges (like freud and Erickson) but focuses on moral reasoning, as our cognitive abilities grow, we are able to think about things in different ways

Question 42

being simultaneously very masculine and very feminine

Answer 42

androgyny

Question 43

hierarchy of salience

Answer 43

a belief that our various identities are organized according to a hierarchy of salience ( importance- quality of being particularly noticeably or important)

depending on the situation, dictates what identity hold the most importance in that given moment

Question 44

self- discrepancy theory

Answer 44

we all have three selfs; actual, ideal and ought self

Question 45

ought self

Answer 45

what others think we should be

Question 46

nuanced

Answer 46

a subtly difference

subtle shades of meaning of expression

a slight or delicate variation in tone, colour, meaning - shade of differnence

Question 47

Vygotsky is known for

Answer 47

focused on understanding cognitive development ( like kolberg)- the engine driving cog dev was internalizing culture and environment around child

known for his concept of zone of proximal development –> referring to skills that are skill development- he believed that child needs a “more knowledgeable other”

if trying to ride a bike, but struggling, needs an adult to help– Vygotsky would say that this skill is within the child prone of proximal development

Question 48

the ability to sense how another mind works is called

Answer 48

theory of mind

Question 49

reference group

Answer 49

2 ppl with same trait may see themselves differently depending on how those qualities compare to their reference groups ( the group we compare ourselves too)

If your reference group is a bunch of over-achievers with 40+ MCAT scores, you’ll never be happy with yourself. However, if your reference group is the average med school applicant, you’ll be happy with a 30+ MCAT score.

Question 50

id, ego, superego

Answer 50

id: basic urges and survival
ego: the mediator bwt id (urges) and superego (ideal self/perfectionist)

ego makes use of defence mechanisms to reduce stresss caused by urges and the superego

Question 51

type and trait theorists

Answer 51

Myer-Briggs

Types A and B

Sheldon somatotypes

Esencks 3 major traits (PEN)

5 factor model

Allort (3 types of traits: cardinal, central, secondary)

Question 52

behaviourist theory of personality

Answer 52

based on behaviours that have previoulsly been learning through rewards and punishment

Question 53

primary process, secondary process

Answer 53

primary is the ID’s frustration (not getting what it wants NOW) and the soncondary is the ego reality principle and guidance- postpone the pleasure principle unit satisfaction can actually be obtained

Question 54

defense mechanisms

Answer 54

the ego uses defence mechanism to relieve anxiety in the clash between the id and superego

all defence mechanisms:

1. distort, falsify, deny reality
2. they all operate unconsciously
   ex. repression, suppression, regression, projection, displacement, sublimation

Question 55

repression vs suppression

Answer 55

repression is more unconscious, subspression is conscious forgetting

Question 56

reaction formation

Answer 56

suppress urges and unconsciously convert them into their exact opposites

Question 57

projection

Answer 57

transferring undesired feeling into something else

unacceptable to “hate your parents” so “my parents hate me”

Question 58

displacement vs sublimation

Answer 58

displacement- unacceptable

sublimation - unacceptable urges transformed into another ACCEPTABLE task - playing soccer

Question 59

Carl Jung

Answer 59

collective unconsciousness (shared amongst all ppl and ansestors influence it)

and personal unconscious

and the conscious mind

he was kinda like freud

archetypes-underlying forms or concepts that give rise to archetypal images, that are common between cultures ( like having a mom and dad)

Question 60

Carl Jung archetype examples

Answer 60

persona - mask we wear in public

anima - a mans inner woman (femininity)

animus - a woman’s inner man (masculinity in women)

shadow- unpleasant and social repressible thoughts

Question 61

reciprocal determinism

Answer 61

that our thoughts, feelings, environment all are interconnected and interact with each our in a given situation.

Question 62

Which condition describes the inability of a patient to use retinal disparity as a cue for depth?

Answer 62

Stereo blindness is the inability to use retinal disparity as a cue for seeing depth; these persons must rely instead on pictorial or monocular cues. Answer B is incorrect because color blindness is a genetic condition resulting from lacking one or more of the cone types found in a normal individual. Answer C, binocular vision, is the normal multi-dimensional vision created by two eyes with overlapping fields of view. This is the normal function that is in part lost in stereo blindness, although persons with stereo blindness often retain some binocular vision. In any event, the loss of the ability to recognize cues for depth is certainly not an example of binocular vision; if anything, it describes a loss in binocular ability.

Question 63

One study participant solved the first four algebraic prompts and noticed that the answer to three of them was 5. Thereafter, she was twice as likely to select 5 as the correct answer compared to any other number, even when 5 was incorrect. Which psychological concept best explains this observation?

a. False positive
b. Functional fixedness
c. Availability heuristic
d. Representativeness heuristic

Answer 63

Answer D is correct. When using the representativeness heuristic, a person categorizes the likely outcomes of a situation based on previous experience. A person tends to judge an outcome as more or less likely based on its similarity to previous outcomes. In this case, the participant appears to believe, after experiencing the fact that the answer to three of the first four prompts was 5, that the answer to future prompts should also be more likely to be 5.

Answer C is incorrect because the availability heuristic refers to a person exhibiting a positive bias toward the item or solution that is most easily accessed from memory. Nothing in the stem suggests that 5 was somehow easier to remember than any other number, so the representativeness heuristic is more applicable in this case.