12.1 Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition

12.1 Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition

Quick Answer: Learning on the NMAT means associating cues (classical), consequences (operant), and models (observational). Memory is a pipeline—sensory → short-term/working → long-term—governed by encoding and retrieval. Cognition covers how we perceive, attend, solve problems, and act under motives and emotions.

CEM’s Social Science subtest is 30 items with a recommended ~30 minutes. Psychology items sit at college introductory level—the same conceptual layer common in premed curricula—not clinical diagnosis. Expect definitions, paradigm contrasts, stage labels, and applied scenarios (study habits, patient adherence, stress).

Learning: Three Core Paradigms

Classical conditioning (Pavlov)

Classical conditioning is learning by association between stimuli. An unconditioned stimulus (US) already elicits an unconditioned response (UR) without training (food → salivation). A neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with the US until it becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicits a conditioned response (CR) (bell → salivation).

Key terms NMAT favors:

Clinical-flavored example (conceptual, not diagnostic): a syringe (CS) repeatedly paired with pain (US) can elicit anxiety (CR) even before the injection.

Operant conditioning (Skinner)

Operant conditioning links voluntary behavior to consequences that make the behavior more or less likely.

Reinforcement increases behavior; punishment decreases it. “Positive/negative” means add/remove, not good/bad.

Reinforcement schedules (high-yield table)

Partial (intermittent) reinforcement produces greater resistance to extinction than continuous reinforcement—useful when explaining why some habits persist.

Observational learning (Bandura)

Observational (social) learning acquires behavior by watching models. Bandura’s classic work (e.g., Bobo doll studies) showed children imitate aggressive acts after seeing a model, especially when the model is rewarded or not punished. Core processes often listed: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. NMAT may contrast this with pure trial-and-error: learning can occur without direct reinforcement of the observer’s every act.

Memory Systems

Stages and stores

Encoding converts experience into a durable code; storage maintains it; retrieval brings it back into awareness. Rehearsal (especially elaborative) and chunking expand usable short-term capacity. Working memory emphasizes simultaneous holding and processing (e.g., holding a dose while computing a weight-based calculation).

Long-term memory subtypes

• Explicit (declarative): facts and events you can state—semantic (general knowledge) and episodic (personally timed events).
• Implicit (nondeclarative): skills and conditioned responses—procedural memory (how to suture, ride a bike) often survives even when verbal recall is weak.

Encoding and retrieval

Deeper levels of processing (meaning-based elaboration) generally produce better memory than shallow features (font, sound alone). Context- and state-dependent effects mean matching study and test conditions can aid retrieval. Serial position: primacy (early items → long-term) and recency (late items → short-term) create the classic U-shaped free-recall curve. Interference: proactive (old hurts new) vs. retroactive (new hurts old). Forgetting is often a retrieval failure, not total erasure—cues matter.

Mnemonics (acronyms, loci, spaced repetition) are applied encoding strategies; NMAT cares that you know why they work (organization + retrieval paths), not that you invent novel systems mid-exam.

Perception, Attention, and Problem-Solving

Sensation is raw receptor input; perception is organized interpretation (Gestalt principles such as figure–ground, proximity, similarity, closure help explain grouping). Attention is selective allocation of limited processing resources—inattentional blindness and divided attention costs explain missed details under multitasking.

Problem-solving strategies include algorithms (guaranteed if feasible) and heuristics (fast rules of thumb). Common traps: functional fixedness (stuck on usual object use), mental set (reusing a past solution path), and biased heuristics (availability, representativeness) that feel intuitive but err systematically.

Motivation and Emotion (Intro)

Motivation energizes and directs behavior. Classic frames: drive-reduction (homeostatic need → drive → behavior), incentive (external goals pull), arousal (optimal stimulation; too low/high harms performance—Yerkes–Dodson style thinking), and Maslow’s hierarchy (physiological → safety → belonging → esteem → self-actualization) as an ordered model, not an iron law. Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation matters for study adherence and patient lifestyle change.

Emotion involves physiological arousal, expressive behavior, and subjective feeling. Introductory theories contrast James–Lange (body first, then feeling), Cannon–Bard (simultaneous), and two-factor/Schachter–Singer (arousal + cognitive label). NMAT items usually test recognition of these labels, not experimental minutiae.

Theorists at a glance (where relevant)

NMAT Application Tips

• Name the paradigm first (classical vs. operant vs. observational) before chasing examples.
• For operant items, ask: Was something added or removed? Did the behavior go up or down?
• Memory items often hinge on stage (sensory/STM/LTM) or encoding vs. retrieval failure.
• Prefer the option that matches the definition, not a medical story that overfits.

Psychology here is the conceptual toolkit for understanding behavior change in yourself as a learner and, later, in patients—without turning the subtest into a psychiatry exam.