FC6: Sensing, Thinking, Reacting
25%of exam
FC7: Behavior & Behavior Change
35%of exam
FC8: Self & Social Interactions
20%of exam
FC9: Social Structure & Demographics
15%of exam
FC10: Social Inequality & Stratification
5%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- MCAT Psych/Soc
- Section
- 1 of 4 MCAT sections
- Time
- 95 minutes
- Questions
- 59 (44 passage + 15 discrete)
- Format
- 10 passage sets + 15 discrete
- Score range
- 118-132 per section
- Section mean
- 125.9 (SD 3.3)
- Passing score
- None published
- Split
- Psych 65% / Soc 30% / Bio 5%
- Attempts
- 3/yr, 4/2yrs, 7 lifetime
Sleep EEG Wave Order
Beta -> Alpha -> Theta -> Delta -> REM
Beta: awake, alertAlpha: awake, relaxedTheta: N1 light sleepDelta: N3 slow-waveREM: dreaming, paradoxical
James-Lange vs Cannon-Bard
James-Lange
- Body reacts first
- Emotion follows the reaction
- Fear because you're running
Cannon-Bard
- Body and emotion together
- Thalamus splits the signal
- Simultaneous, independent pathways
Sequence vs simultaneous
Sensation & Perception
- Weber's Law
- JND scales with intensity
- Absolute threshold
- Min detectable stimulus level
- Signal detection theory
- Hit, miss, false alarm
- Sensory adaptation
- Response fades, steady stimulus
- Transduction
- Energy becomes neural signal
- Proximity (Gestalt)
- Group items that are near
- Closure (Gestalt)
- Mind fills in the gaps
- Figure-ground
- Object stands out from background
- Bottom-up processing
- Build percept from raw data
- Top-down processing
- Use expectation to interpret
Cannon-Bard vs Schachter-Singer
Cannon-Bard
- Arousal and emotion together
- No cognition required
- Thalamus triggers both at once
Schachter-Singer
- Arousal plus cognitive label
- Context names the emotion
- Two-factor theory of emotion
Simultaneous vs cognitive label
Memory & Cognition
- Sensory memory
- Iconic/echoic, under 1 sec
- Working memory
- Holds ~7 items, briefly
- Long-term memory
- Durable, largely unlimited store
- Central executive
- Working memory's control system
- Phonological loop
- Holds verbal, acoustic info
- Visuospatial sketchpad
- Holds visual, spatial info
- Semantic memory
- General facts and knowledge
- Episodic memory
- Personal, context-rich events
- Procedural memory
- Implicit skills and habits
- Primacy effect
- Best recall, list's start
- Recency effect
- Best recall, list's end
- Proactive interference
- Old learning blocks new
- Retroactive interference
- New learning blocks old
Sensation vs Perception
Sensation
- Detects the raw stimulus
- Bottom-up, receptor-driven
- Physical energy input
Perception
- Interprets the stimulus
- Top-down, brain-driven
- Meaning built from context
Detect vs interpret
Sleep Stages & EEG
- Beta waves
- Awake, alert, high frequency
- Alpha waves
- Awake, relaxed, eyes closed
- Theta waves
- N1 light sleep
- Sleep spindles
- N2 bursts, memory consolidation
- K-complex
- N2, suppresses noise arousal
- Delta waves
- N3 slow-wave, deep sleep
- REM sleep
- Dreaming, muscle atonia
- Paradoxical sleep
- REM, brain looks awake
- Circadian rhythm
- About 24-hour body clock
- Suprachiasmatic nucleus
- Master clock in hypothalamus
- Melatonin
- Pineal hormone, triggers sleep
Emotion Theories
- James-Lange theory
- Body reacts, then emotion
- Cannon-Bard theory
- Body and emotion together
- Schachter-Singer theory
- Arousal plus cognitive label
- Yerkes-Dodson law
- Moderate arousal, best performance
- Drive reduction theory
- Behavior lowers biological need
- Incentive theory
- External reward pulls behavior
- Maslow's hierarchy
- Needs: physiological to self-actualize
Stress Response
- General adaptation syndrome
- Alarm, resistance, exhaustion stages
- HPA axis
- Hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal path
- Cortisol
- Stress hormone, raises glucose
- Problem-focused coping
- Act to remove the stressor
- Emotion-focused coping
- Manage feelings about stress
- Eustress
- Positive, motivating stress
- Distress
- Negative, harmful stress
Piaget's 4 Stages
Sensorimotor -> Preop -> Concrete -> Formal
Sensorimotor: object permanencePreop: symbolic, egocentricConcrete: conservation, logicFormal: abstract reasoning
Classical vs Operant Conditioning
Classical
- Involuntary, reflexive response
- Stimulus paired with stimulus
- Pavlov's dogs
Operant
- Voluntary behavior
- Behavior paired with consequence
- Skinner's box
Reflex vs consequence
Developmental Stage Picker
- Object permanence emerges→Sensorimotor stage(Piaget, ages 0-2)
- Symbolic play, egocentric thought→Preoperational stage(Piaget, ages 2-7)
- Conservation, logical concrete thought→Concrete operational(Piaget, ages 7-11)
- Abstract, hypothetical reasoning appears→Formal operational(Piaget, ages 12+)
- Infant learns to trust caregiver→Trust vs mistrust(Erikson, infancy)
- Teen builds a personal identity→Identity vs role confusion(Erikson, adolescence)
Personality Theories
- Psychoanalytic theory
- Freud: unconscious drives shape us
- Trait theory
- Big Five: OCEAN dimensions
- Social-cognitive theory
- Bandura: person, behavior, environment
- Humanistic theory
- Rogers, Maslow: self-actualization focus
- Self-efficacy
- Belief in own competence
- Reciprocal determinism
- Person, behavior, environment interact
- Locus of control
- Internal vs external causes
Erikson's 8 Psychosocial Crises
Infancy to old age, 8 crises
Trust vs mistrustAutonomy vs shame/doubtInitiative vs guiltIndustry vs inferiorityIdentity vs role confusionIntimacy vs isolationGenerativity vs stagnationIntegrity vs despair
Reinforcement vs Punishment
Reinforcement
- Increases the behavior
- Positive adds a reward
- Negative removes something aversive
Punishment
- Decreases the behavior
- Positive adds something aversive
- Negative removes a reward
Strengthens vs weakens behavior
Conditioning Type Picker
- Reflex paired with neutral cue→Classical conditioning(Involuntary response)
- Behavior shaped by its consequence→Operant conditioning(Voluntary behavior)
- Reward given every response→Continuous reinforcement(Fast learn, fast extinct)
- Reward after a set count→Fixed ratio(Piecework pay)
- Reward after a random count→Variable ratio(Slot machine payout)
- Reward after a fixed time→Fixed interval(Weekly paycheck)
- Reward after a random time→Variable interval(Checking email)
Freud & Defense Mechanisms
- Id
- Unconscious, pleasure principle
- Ego
- Conscious, reality principle
- Superego
- Morals, conscience, ideal self
- Repression
- Blocks thought from awareness
- Projection
- Attributes own feeling to other
- Displacement
- Redirects impulse to safe target
- Reaction formation
- Acts opposite of true feeling
- Rationalization
- Justifies with logical excuse
- Regression
- Reverts to earlier stage
- Sublimation
- Channels impulse into acceptable act
- Denial
- Refuses to accept reality
Freud's Ego Defenses
Repress, project, displace, deny, rationalize
Repression: block the thoughtProjection: blame others insteadDisplacement: redirect to safe targetRationalization: logical excuseRegression: revert to childish behavior
Motivation & Attitude Change
- Intrinsic motivation
- Behavior for its own sake
- Extrinsic motivation
- Behavior for external reward
- Elaboration likelihood model
- Central vs peripheral persuasion route
- Cognitive dissonance
- Discomfort from conflicting beliefs
- Foot-in-the-door
- Small request before big ask
- Door-in-the-face
- Big request before smaller ask
- Self-perception theory
- Infer attitude from own act
4 Reinforcement Schedules
Ratio = count; interval = time
Fixed ratio: pay per pieceVariable ratio: slot machineFixed interval: weekly paycheckVariable interval: pop quiz
Classical Conditioning
- Unconditioned stimulus
- Naturally triggers a response
- Unconditioned response
- Automatic, reflexive response
- Conditioned stimulus
- Neutral cue that gains power
- Conditioned response
- Learned response to the cue
- Acquisition
- CS-UCS pairing builds link
- Extinction
- CR fades without UCS
- Spontaneous recovery
- CR reappears after a rest
- Stimulus generalization
- Similar cues trigger the CR
- Stimulus discrimination
- Only exact CS triggers CR
- Higher-order conditioning
- CS pairs with a new cue
Operant Conditioning
- Positive reinforcement
- Add reward, behavior increases
- Negative reinforcement
- Remove aversive, behavior increases
- Positive punishment
- Add aversive, behavior decreases
- Negative punishment
- Remove reward, behavior decreases
- Fixed ratio
- Reward after N responses
- Variable ratio
- Reward after random N
- Fixed interval
- Reward after fixed time
- Variable interval
- Reward after random time
- Shaping
- Rewards successive approximations
- Premack principle
- Preferred act reinforces less-preferred
- Extinction burst
- Behavior spikes before it fades
Developmental Theorists
- Piaget
- 4 cognitive development stages
- Erikson
- 8 psychosocial life crises
- Kohlberg
- 3 levels of moral reasoning
- Vygotsky
- Zone of proximal development
- Object permanence
- Piaget: objects exist unseen
- Conservation
- Piaget: quantity survives shape change
- Egocentrism
- Piaget: can't take others' view
- Scaffolding
- Vygotsky: guided support, fades
Prejudice vs Discrimination
Prejudice
- An attitude, unfair judgment
- Internal, cognitive or affective
- Can stay unconscious
Discrimination
- A behavior, unfair treatment
- External, observable action
- Attitude acted out
Attitude vs behavior
Attribution & Bias Picker
- Blame others' traits, not situation→Fundamental attribution error
- Blame own failure on situation→Self-serving bias
- Explain own act by situation→Actor-observer bias
- One trait colors whole view→Halo effect
- Victim seen as deserving it→Just-world hypothesis
- Favor members of own group→In-group bias
Self & Identity
- Self-concept
- Overall belief about oneself
- Self-esteem
- Evaluation of one's own worth
- Looking-glass self
- Cooley: self from others' view
- Mead's I and me
- Spontaneous self vs socialized self
- Generalized other
- Internalized societal expectations
- Identity vs role confusion
- Erikson: teen forms identity
- Dramaturgy (Goffman)
- Social life as staged performance
- Front stage
- Public, performed self
- Back stage
- Private, unperformed self
- Impression management
- Controls how others perceive us
- Stigma
- Deeply discrediting social attribute
- Total institution
- Controls all daily life aspects
Attribution & Bias
- Fundamental attribution error
- Overweighs traits, not situation
- Actor-observer bias
- Self: situation; others: traits
- Self-serving bias
- Credits self, blames situation
- Halo effect
- One trait colors whole view
- Just-world hypothesis
- Belief people get what's deserved
- In-group bias
- Favors one's own group
- Out-group homogeneity
- Sees out-group as all alike
- Stereotype
- Belief-based group generalization
- Prejudice
- Attitude toward a group
- Discrimination
- Unfair action toward a group
- Self-fulfilling prophecy
- Expectation causes its own truth
Attraction, Aggression & Altruism
- Mere exposure effect
- Repeated contact increases liking
- Matching hypothesis
- Partners share attractiveness level
- Social exchange theory
- Relationships weigh costs, benefits
- Reciprocal altruism
- Help now, expect help later
- Kin selection
- Favor genetic relatives' survival
- Frustration-aggression hypothesis
- Blocked goals provoke aggression
3 Sociology Paradigms
Function, conflict, interaction: 3 lenses
Functionalism: parts keep orderConflict theory: power struggleSymbolic interactionism: micro meaning
Reliability vs Validity
Reliability
- Consistent, repeatable results
- Precision, not accuracy
- Same result each time
Validity
- Measures the true construct
- Accuracy of the measure
- Reliable but can be invalid
Consistency vs accuracy
Research Design Picker
- Need cause-and-effect proof→Controlled experiment(Manipulate the IV)
- One time, several age groups→Cross-sectional study
- Same group tracked for years→Longitudinal study
- Compare exposed vs unexposed group→Cohort study(Forward-looking)
- Start at outcome, look backward→Case-control study
- Just describe an existing pattern→Correlational study(No causal claim)
Sociological Paradigms
- Structural functionalism
- Parts work to keep order
- Conflict theory
- Groups compete over resources
- Symbolic interactionism
- Meaning from everyday interaction
- Manifest function
- Intended, recognized outcome
- Latent function
- Unintended, hidden outcome
- Social dysfunction
- Disrupts a society's stability
Marx vs Weber on Class
Marx
- Two classes only
- Owners vs workers
- Economic conflict drives history
Weber
- Three dimensions of standing
- Class, status, and power
- Multidimensional stratification
Binary vs multidimensional
Classical Sociologists
- Durkheim
- Functionalism, anomie, solidarity types
- Weber
- Class, status, power dimensions
- Marx
- Conflict, bourgeoisie vs proletariat
- Parsons
- Functionalism, sick role theory
- Mechanical solidarity
- Durkheim: bond from similarity
- Organic solidarity
- Durkheim: bond from interdependence
- Anomie
- Durkheim: normlessness in society
- Verstehen
- Weber: interpretive understanding method
Demographics
- Fertility rate
- Average births per woman
- Mortality rate
- Deaths per population, per year
- Migration
- Movement of people, places
- Demographic transition
- Shift, high to low rates
- Population pyramid
- Chart of age-sex structure
- Cohort
- Group sharing a life event
- Life expectancy
- Average years a person lives
Research Methods & Validity
- Independent variable
- Variable the researcher manipulates
- Dependent variable
- Outcome that gets measured
- Confound
- Uncontrolled, alternative explanation
- Internal validity
- Accuracy of causal claim
- External validity
- Results generalize beyond study
- Reliability
- Consistency of a measure
- Validity
- Measures the intended construct
- Cross-sectional study
- One time, many groups
- Longitudinal study
- Same group, over time
- Case-control study
- Compares outcome groups, backward
- Cohort study
- Tracks exposure group, forward
- Double-blind
- Subject and researcher unaware
- Selection bias
- Nonrandom sample skews result
- Confirmation bias
- Favors evidence that confirms belief
- Social desirability bias
- Answers to look favorable
- Hawthorne effect
- Behavior changes when observed
- Demand characteristics
- Cues reveal study's purpose
Sex vs Gender
Sex
- Biological category
- Chromosomes and anatomy
- Male, female, or intersex
Gender
- Social, cultural category
- Roles, identity, expression
- Socially constructed category
Biological vs social
Health Disparities & Inequality
- Health disparity
- Unequal outcome across a group
- Social determinants of health
- Non-medical drivers of health
- Medicalization
- Defines a condition as medical
- Sick role
- Parsons: 4 expectations for ill
- Intersectionality
- Overlapping identities compound disadvantage
- Ageism
- Discrimination based on age
- Spatial inequality
- Resources differ by geography
Common Traps
Correlation vs causation
Correlation only shows a link ≠ Causation needs a controlled test
Sensation vs perception
Sensation detects the raw input ≠ Perception interprets that input
Reliability vs validity
Reliability means consistent results ≠ Validity means accurate results
Prejudice vs discrimination
Prejudice is an attitude ≠ Discrimination is an action
Sex vs gender
Sex is a biological trait ≠ Gender is a social identity
Class vs status
Class is economic position ≠ Status is social prestige
Ascribed vs achieved status
Ascribed status is assigned at birth ≠ Achieved status is earned
Mores vs folkways
Mores carry real moral weight ≠ Folkways are casual customs
Negative reinforcement vs punishment
Negative reinforcement increases behavior ≠ Punishment decreases behavior
Manifest vs latent function
Manifest function is intended ≠ Latent function is unintended
Last Minute
- 1.59 questions in 95 minutes
- 2.Score 118-132; no passing cutoff
- 3.Psychology 65%, sociology 30%, biology 5%
- 4.FC7 is the biggest domain
- 5.Sensation detects; perception interprets
- 6.Classical = reflex; operant = consequence
- 7.Piaget: sensorimotor, preop, concrete, formal
- 8.Erikson has 8 psychosocial crises
- 9.Kohlberg: pre, conventional, postconventional
- 10.Reliability = consistent; validity = accurate
- 11.Correlation ≠ causation; test to prove
- 12.3 paradigms: function, conflict, interaction
- 13.Ascribed = born with; achieved = earned
- 14.Sick role has 4 expectations
- 15.No penalty for wrong answers
- 16.3 MCAT attempts per year max
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