MCAT Psychology High Yield Content
Questions and Answers | Latest Version
| 2024/2025 | 100% Verified
What is the role of the prefrontal cortex in decision-making?
✔✔The prefrontal cortex is involved in complex cognitive behavior, decision-making, and
moderating social behavior by integrating information from various brain regions.
Describe the concept of cognitive dissonance.
✔✔Cognitive dissonance refers to the mental discomfort experienced when a person holds
conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes, often leading to a change in one of the beliefs to reduce
discomfort.
What is the function of the amygdala in emotional processing?
✔✔The amygdala is responsible for processing emotions, particularly fear and pleasure, and
plays a key role in emotional memory formation.
1
,Explain the difference between classical and operant conditioning.
✔✔Classical conditioning involves learning through association between stimuli, while operant
conditioning involves learning based on the consequences of behavior, such as rewards or
punishments.
What is the significance of the social learning theory in psychology?
✔✔Social learning theory emphasizes that people can learn new behaviors by observing others,
highlighting the role of modeling, imitation, and observational learning.
Describe the stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.
✔✔Piaget's theory includes four stages: the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years), the
preoperational stage (2 to 7 years), the concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years), and the formal
operational stage (12 years and up), each characterized by different cognitive abilities.
What role does the hippocampus play in memory formation?
2
,✔✔The hippocampus is crucial for forming new long-term memories and is involved in the
consolidation of information from short-term to long-term memory.
Explain the concept of attachment theory.
✔✔Attachment theory suggests that early emotional bonds between infants and caregivers shape
future relationships and emotional development, with secure attachment leading to healthy
relationships.
What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?
✔✔Intrinsic motivation comes from within, driven by personal satisfaction or interest in the task,
while extrinsic motivation is influenced by external rewards or pressures.
Describe the fundamental attribution error in social psychology.
✔✔The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to overemphasize personal
characteristics and underestimate situational factors when explaining other people's behavior.
3
, What is the role of mirror neurons in understanding others' actions?
✔✔Mirror neurons are specialized brain cells that activate both when an individual performs an
action and when they observe someone else performing the same action, playing a key role in
empathy and understanding others' intentions.
Explain the concept of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
✔✔Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory that proposes five levels of human
needs, arranged in a pyramid: physiological needs, safety needs, love and belongingness, esteem
needs, and self-actualization, with higher needs emerging after lower ones are satisfied.
What is the impact of reinforcement schedules on behavior?
✔✔Reinforcement schedules, such as fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-
interval, determine the timing and frequency of reinforcement, influencing the strength and rate
of learned behavior.
Describe the role of the limbic system in emotional regulation.
4
Questions and Answers | Latest Version
| 2024/2025 | 100% Verified
What is the role of the prefrontal cortex in decision-making?
✔✔The prefrontal cortex is involved in complex cognitive behavior, decision-making, and
moderating social behavior by integrating information from various brain regions.
Describe the concept of cognitive dissonance.
✔✔Cognitive dissonance refers to the mental discomfort experienced when a person holds
conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes, often leading to a change in one of the beliefs to reduce
discomfort.
What is the function of the amygdala in emotional processing?
✔✔The amygdala is responsible for processing emotions, particularly fear and pleasure, and
plays a key role in emotional memory formation.
1
,Explain the difference between classical and operant conditioning.
✔✔Classical conditioning involves learning through association between stimuli, while operant
conditioning involves learning based on the consequences of behavior, such as rewards or
punishments.
What is the significance of the social learning theory in psychology?
✔✔Social learning theory emphasizes that people can learn new behaviors by observing others,
highlighting the role of modeling, imitation, and observational learning.
Describe the stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.
✔✔Piaget's theory includes four stages: the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years), the
preoperational stage (2 to 7 years), the concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years), and the formal
operational stage (12 years and up), each characterized by different cognitive abilities.
What role does the hippocampus play in memory formation?
2
,✔✔The hippocampus is crucial for forming new long-term memories and is involved in the
consolidation of information from short-term to long-term memory.
Explain the concept of attachment theory.
✔✔Attachment theory suggests that early emotional bonds between infants and caregivers shape
future relationships and emotional development, with secure attachment leading to healthy
relationships.
What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?
✔✔Intrinsic motivation comes from within, driven by personal satisfaction or interest in the task,
while extrinsic motivation is influenced by external rewards or pressures.
Describe the fundamental attribution error in social psychology.
✔✔The fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to overemphasize personal
characteristics and underestimate situational factors when explaining other people's behavior.
3
, What is the role of mirror neurons in understanding others' actions?
✔✔Mirror neurons are specialized brain cells that activate both when an individual performs an
action and when they observe someone else performing the same action, playing a key role in
empathy and understanding others' intentions.
Explain the concept of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
✔✔Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory that proposes five levels of human
needs, arranged in a pyramid: physiological needs, safety needs, love and belongingness, esteem
needs, and self-actualization, with higher needs emerging after lower ones are satisfied.
What is the impact of reinforcement schedules on behavior?
✔✔Reinforcement schedules, such as fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-
interval, determine the timing and frequency of reinforcement, influencing the strength and rate
of learned behavior.
Describe the role of the limbic system in emotional regulation.
4
