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Psych & Soc

MCAT Study Cards

TermDefinition
Ethnocentrism Tendency to judge others by standards in own culture
Social Facilitation Effect performing simple tasks better when other people are present
Bystander Effect Person less likely to provide help when other bystanders are present
Social Loafing Exert less effort if being evaluated as a group
Groupthink desire for harmony results in a perspective without alternative viewpoints
Dramaturgical Perspective Imagine ourselves playing certain roles when interacting with others
Functionalism Society is a living organism with different parts and organs, social institutions larger scale
Manifest Functions intended and obvious consequences of a structure
Latent Functions unintended consequences
Social Dysfunction undesirable consequences and reduction social structure
Symbolic Interactionism Society is built from micro interactions
Social constructionism human actors create a reality instead of discovering one that has internal validity, social institutions are a larger scale
Fundamental Attribution Error underestimate the impact of a situation and overestimate a person's character
Self-serving bias success to ourselves, and failure to others
Optimism Bias Bad things happen to others but not to ourselves
False Consequences everyone agrees with what we do
Prejudice thoughts, acts, and feelings not based on experience
Stereotype Oversimplified ideas based on characteristics of people
Scapegoat who aggression may be displaced to
Self-fulfilling prophecy behaviors that affirm a stereotype
Sanctions rewards and punishments for behaviors in accord with, or against norms
Agents of Socialization family, school, peer groups, workplace, religion, gov, media, and tech
Assimilation forsake aspects of a culture to adopt those of a different culture
Amalgation majority and minority groups form a new group
Multiculturalism Equal standing for all cultures
Self-Esteem evaluating one's self-worth
looking glass self sense of self develops from perception of others: Charles Horton Cooley
Self-Efficacy A belief in one's own competence
Locus of Control Ability to influence outcomes by self and surroundings: Julian Rotter
self-identity knowledge and understanding of self
personal identity age, disability, religion (demographics)
justification of effort modify attitude to what someone says (salesman tactic)
public declaration to please others and adapt to what they say
role-playing stanford prison experiment type of research
social cognitive therapy reactions about thoughts, not the event itself
behavioral therapy conditioning to reshape behaviors
humanistic therapy healthy personality development, carl rogers
sublimation channeling negative behavior into something positive
regression reverting to less sophisticated behavior
displacement redirecting aggressive or sexual impulses
rationalization intellectually justifying one's behavior
projection attributing unacceptable thoughts and feelings to another person
reaction formation expressing opposite of what one feels
repression lack of recall of something emotionally painful
denial refuse to acknowledge a memory
overconfidence overestimating accuracy of knowledge
belief perseverance tendency to cling to beliefs despite the presence of evidence (anti-vaxxers)
belief bias tendency to judge arguments based on what we believe about conclusions than the logic (fundamentalist republicans)
confirmation bias tend to only seek information that confirms what one believes ignoring refuting beliefs
mental set fixate on solution that worked in the past though it may not apply to the current problem
long term memory indefinite capacity (hippocampus)
short term memory 7 +/- 2 items, 20s (hippocampus)
echoic memory sound, 3-4s
iconic memory visual info (prefrontal cortex)
sensory memory decays very quickly (prefrontal cortex)
avoidance person performs behavior to ensure aversive stimulus not presented
escape get away from aversive stimulus by engaging in a behavior
selective attention the process by which one input is attended to and the rest are tuned out
divided attention ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously
cocktail party effect occurs when words of importance are immediately detected
Broca's area speech and language production
Wernicke's area language comprehension
limbic system controls basic emotions
hippocampus short term and long term memory
prefrontal cortex sound and sensory memory
Alertness and Arousal the ability to remain attentive to what is going on (run by reticular formation)
Heuristics performing mental shortcuts to solve a problem
algorithm step by step procedure to solve a problem
trial and error repeated, varied attempts to solve a problem
nonassociative learning repeatedly exposed to one stimulus
habituation learning to tune out other processes
sensitization increase responsiveness due to repeated application
dishabituation no longer accustomed to a stimulus
associative learning one object or event is closely related to another
classical conditioning 2 stimuli paired in a certain way to change response
acquisition learning a conditioned response
generalization stimuli other than conditioned stimuli elicit response
spontaneous recovery extinct conditioned response occurs when conditioned stimulus is presented after some time
extinction conditioned and unconditioned stimulus no longer paired together and do not produce conditioned response
discrimination (classical conditioning) ability to separate conditioned stimulus from other stimuli
operant conditioning reinforcement and punishment to mold behavior and cause associative learning
reinforcement increase likelihood of behavior
positive (operant conditioning) adding stimulus
negative (operant conditioning) removing stimulus
punishment decreasing the likelihood of a behavior
Anxiety excessive worry, uneasiness, apprehension and fear with psych and phys symptoms
mood disorder disturbance in mood or affect
personality disorder behavior that departs from social norms
parkinson's disease cell death in basal ganglia and substantia nigra, tremor, slow movement
residual schizophrenia previously met symptoms of schizo but now lighter
paranoid schizophrenia delusions and hallucinations
catatonic schizophrenia stupor and immobility with peculiar behavior
undifferentiated schizophrenia meets basic criteria for schizo but not any subtype
psychotic disorder loss of contact with reality
dissociative disorder disruption in memory and identity
eating disorder disruption in eating patterns
neurocognitive disorder decline in memory and problem solving
Alzheimer's disease dementia and anterograde amnesia, plaques
sleep disorder interruption of sleep pattern
somatoform disorder symptoms cannot be explained by a medical condition
social behaviorism mind and self emerge through process of communicating with others
attribution theory consistency, distinctiveness, consensus either internally or externally
conflict theory competition for limited resources, social disruption not stability
cognitive dissonance theory conflict or inconsistency between internal attitudes and external behaviors
psycholanalytical theory personality shaped by unconscious
superego moralistic goals
id source energy and instincts, pleasure principle
ego logical planning, controls consciousness
altruism practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others
absolute threshold of sensation the min intensity of stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
Weber's Law quantification of the perception of change in a a given stimulus
vestibular fsystem balance and spacial orientation (inner ear)
signal detection theory how we make decision under conditions of uncertainty. what is important and what is noise
bottom-up processing stimulus influences our perception
top-down processing background knowledge influences perception
Dopamine neurotransmitter released when pleasure is experienced. Sent to amygdala and hippocampus
Stressors significant life changes, catastrophic events, daily hassles, ambient
Hormones released during stress via endocrine system: norepinephrine, epinephrine and cortisol
cerebellum coordinate movement
conformity peer pressure, the tendency for people to bring behavior to line with group norms
central processing lasting attitude change, interested in topic
peripheral processing don't care about the topic, temporary attitude change
reciprocal determinism interaction between a person's behavior, personal factors, and environment: Bandura
stigma extreme disapproval or discrediting of individual by society either social or self
evolutionary game theory those who best fit to environment will survive
vehicular control what exp group does without directly desired impact
positive control treatment with known response
negative control group with no response expected
internal validity extent to which a causal conclusion based on the stid is warranted
external validity whether results of study can be generalized to other situations and people
confounding variable change in dependent variable
temporal confounds time related confounding variable
material cutlure objects involved in a certain way of life
non-material culture elements of a culture that are not physical
social norm expectations that govern what behavior is acceptable in a group
social group subset of a population that maintains social interactions
symbolic culture non-material culture that consists of elements of culture that have meaning only in the mind
urbanization increase of proportion of people living in specified urban areas
globalization increase of interaction and integration of goods, services, and people on a global scale
spatial inequality unequal access to resources and variable quality of life based on geographical area
global inequality disparity between regions and nations evidenced by GDP, natural resources, and access to healthcare
residential segregation social inequality on a local scale, the separation of demographic groups into different geographical areas
food deserts places where it is hard to find affordable healthy food
social class a system of stratification of groups based on similarities in social standing
upward mobility moving up in the class system through education, marriage, etc..
downward mobility going down in the class system through unemployment, divorce, etc...
intragenerational mobility moving upward in the class system within one individual's life
intergenerational mobility moving upward in the class system within a few generations
meritocracy advancement is based solely on the achievements of an individual
cultural capitol set of non-monetary social factors that lead to social mobility like dress, accent, manners, etc...
social capitol individual's social networks and connections that may confer economic and personal benefits
social reproduction the transmission of social inequality from one generation to the nexts
social exclusion impoverished people are often excluded from opportunities
primary reinforcer/punisher harness physiological needs and drive for survival to increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior
secondary reinforcer/punisher money, grades, fines etc
fixed ratio rewards are provided after a specified number of responses
variable ratio rewards are provided after an unpredictable number of responses
fixed interval rewards are provided after a specified time interval
variable interval rewards are provided after an unpredictable amount of time
mirror neurons fired when someone completes an action and when they observe someone completing an action
attraction factors that draw members of society together
aggression conflict and competition between individuals
attachment relationships between individuals
social support finding help through social connections
inclusive fitness an individual's overall level of success at passing on genes
front stage self encompasses a behavior that a player performs in front of an audience
back stage self players are together but no audience is present
group polarization interactions and discussions of a group are stronger than the attitudes of its original memebers
peer pressure social influence exerted by one's peer to act in a way that is acceptable or similar to the peer's behavior
deindividualization people lose awareness of their individuality and instead immerse themselves in the mood or activities of a crowd
obedience behavioral changes made in response or demand by an authority figure
the big 5 factor model obedience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism
behaviorist theory personality is constructed by a series of learning experiences
humanistic theory people continually seek experiences that make them feel better
reference group provides individual with model for appropriate actions, values and worldviews
oral stage Age: 1, nursing and oral stimulation
anal stage Age: 2, toilet training
phallic stage Age: 3-6, gender and sexual identification
latent stage Age: 7-12, social development pleasures put aside for school
genital stage Age: adolescence and beyond, mature sexuality
Trust vs. mistrust Age: infancy to 1.5, lasting ideas of trust according to actions of parents
autonomy vs. shame and doubt Age: 1.5-3, competency to carry out self-care
initiative vs. guilt Age: 3-5, ability to execute a plan or activity
industry vs inferiority Age: 5-12, immersed in more complex social environment
identity vs role confusion Age: 12-18, different possibilities of roles in society
intimacy vs. isolation Age: 18-40, forming emotionally significant relationships with others
generativity vs. stagnation Age: 40-65, determine extent to which an individual wants to give back
integrity vs. despair Age: 65+, develop sense of how life was lived - evaluation
current developmental level Vygotsky: tasks that children can perform without help from others
potential developmental level Vygotsky: the most advanced tasks that a child can perform with guidance from others
zone of proximal development Vygotsky: all skills that can be achieved with help
Preconventional morality Kohlberg; Stage 1: punishment; Stage 2: reward
conventional morality Kohlberg; Stage 3: social disapproval; Stage 4: rule following
postconventional morality Kohlberg; Stage 5: social contract; Stage 6: universal ethics
dispositional attribution assigning cause to an inherent quality or desire
situational attribution deciding that environmental forces are in control
cognition a wide range of internal mental activites
perception the organization and identification of sensory inputs
cerebral cortex informational processing
Sensorimotor stage Piaget; Age: birth-2; object permanence and separating oneself from objects
Preoperational stage Piaget; Age: 2-7; learn to use language, egocentric, think literally
Concrete operational stage Piaget; Age: 7-11; children become more logical in thinking, inductive reasoning and conservation
Formal operational stage Piaget; Age: 11-older; deductive reasoning, think abstractly
learning theory language is a form of behavior and is learned through operant conditioning
nativist theory language development is innately human and all people have a neural cognitive system
interactionist theory human brain develops so that it can be receptive to new language input, environmental and innate biology
bias tendency to think a particular way
amygdala responsible for fear and anger, and learning the basis of reward or punishment
James-Lange theory emotion is physiologically-based
Cannon-Bard theory emotional and physiological reactions are experienced simultaneously
Schacter-Singer theory for cognitive appraisal one takes into account both the physiological response and the situational cues
drive reduction theory people are motivated to take action to lessen a state of arousal
incentive theory people are motivated by external rewards
cognitive theories people behave based on their expectations
affective component a person's feelings or emotions about an object, person, or event
behavioral component influence that attitudes have on behavior
cognitive component beliefs or knowledge about a specific object or interest
Factors of attitude change behavior change, characteristics of the message, characteristics of the target, social factor
Hormones released during stress epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol
Epinephrine and norepinephrine increase heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate
Cortisol increases blood glucose
Signal detection theory how an organism differentiates important or meaningful stimuli from those that are not of interest to the environment
principle of nearness Gestalt; cluster of objects will be perceived as a distinct group
principle of similarity Gestalt; objects with a shared feature will be perceived as a single group
principle of common region Gestalt; objects sharing a common background even without nearness or similarity will be perceived as a group
principle of continuity Gestalt; ambiguous stimulus perceived according to the simplest of its common forms
principle of closure Gestalt; perceive whole shapes even when they are not actually present in the stimulus
parallel processing the use of multiple pathways to convey information about a single stimulus
feature detection cells that respond to particular areas of visual stimuli which are integrated to produce an object as a whole
propioception position by assessing through spindle (balance)
kinesthia movement (behavioral)
Depressants decrease CNS, HR, BP, and processing speed
stimulants increase CNS, HR, BP, and processing speed
Hallucinogens distorted perception, increase sensations
Opiates decrease CNS, HR, BP pain relief
routes of drug entry oral, inhalation, and injection
theory of primary mental abilities (7) LL Thunstein
theory of multiple intelligence (7-9) Howard Gardner, each person posses at least eight intelligences excelling in some and faltering in others
triarchic theory of intelligence (3) Robert Sternber, analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence
Solomon Asch conformity experiment, if people change behavior based on what other people say (bar size experiment)
Milgram experiments obedience shock experiments (derive from Nazi theory)
spreading activation searching for associative networks to retrieve specific information
serial position effect individuals are more likely to recall first and last items presented
visuospatial sketchpad repetition of images to aid in encoding memory
social stratification people are categorized by their demographics by society
anomie an individual that feels disconnected from the larger community
Mead's Theory; I present and future
Mead's Theory; me in the past, the knowledge about society
reaction formation emotions and impulses that are anxiety inducing are perceived to be unacceptable or hyperbolic
social constructionism examines the development of jointly constructing understandings of the world
psychophysics relationship between stimuli and sensations and perceptions
cones color, bright light
rods low light
fluid intelligence reasoning and problem solving
crystallized intelligence acquired knowledge and the ability to retrieve it
Spearman theory of general intelligence, there is a common fxn among intellectual activities called the "g"
Stage 1 Sleep low frequency alpha waves and twitching
Stage 2 Sleep spindles and K-complexes
Stage 3 and 4 Sleep low frequency delta waves and slow wave sleep
REM Sleep partial paralysis, vivid dreaming, alpha and beta waves
suprachiasmatic nucleus body's master clock in the hypothalamus
melatonin hormone released by the brain's pineal gland
latent content hidden meaning of a dream
manifest content storyline of a dream
Cartwright's theory on dreaming dreams reflect life events that are important to us
declarative memory the type of long-term memory that stores facts and events like a lock combo
procedural memory memory of how to do things like riding a bike
Dyssomnia sleep disorders that affect the amount, quality and timing of sleep
parasomnia sleep disorders that are marked by irregular behavior
insomnia the failure to get enough sleep at night
benzodiazepenes and barbiturates increasing GABA activity and help with anxiety
semantic encoding using the sensory input that has certain meaning or context to encode and create memories
serial recall people tend to recall items or events in the order which they occurred
proactive interference forgetting of info due to interference from previous knowledge
retroactive interference newly learned info interferes with the encoding or recall of previously learned info
Sapir-Whorf Theory the structure of a person's language influences the way she perceives the world
left hemisphere dominate the functions of speech, language processing, comprehension and logical reasoning
right hemisphere interprets emotional tones of speech but cannot process words and meaning independently
universal emotions fear, anger, happiness, surprise, joy, disgust, and sadness
Actetylcholine muscle action and memory
beta-endorphin pain and pleaasure
dopamine mood, sleep and learning
GABA brain function and sleep
glutamate memory and learning
norepinephrine heart, intestines (suppress appetite) and alertness
serotonin mood and sleep
CT scan taking a number of xrays of a part of someone's body usually used for tumor detection or brain bleed
PET scan injected or drinks with mildly radioactive substance and a live picture of the rain is taken, can monitor bloodflow
MRI strong magnetic field, different density tissues give off different signals
fMRI tracks blood flow and oxygen levels
Mischel similarities in behavior in similar situations: marshmallow study
unconditioned stimulus biologically significant stimulus such as food or pain that elicits an unconditioned response
conditioned stimulus previously neutral stimulus that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a response
unconditioned response naturally occurring biological response
conditioned response new response to the previously neutral conditioned stimulus
Bandura observational learning; Bobo doll experiment
in group bias preference and affinity to one's in group in order to improve self-esteem or feel superior
Dispositional attribution blaming the victim for something that may not be their fault
stereotype threat the experience of anxiety or concern where a person has the potential to confirm a negative stereotype about their social group
social network social structure that exists between individuals or organizations, composed of nodes and ties
Scales of Intelligence percentage break-up 0.1, 2, 14, 38%
impression management a goal-directed conscious or unconscious process where people attempt to influence perceptions about other things or people.
culture lag notion that culture takes time to catch up with technological innovations
culture shock personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life
intersectionality race, gender, and age
culture transmission the way a group of people tend to pass on or learn information
culture diffusion spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group to another
social cognitive theory portions of an individual's knowledge acquisition can be related to observing others within the context of social interactions
Created by: missmartian
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