Psych/Soc MCAT Study Cards
Questions and Answers
Three main parts of a neuron - CORRECT ANSWERS -Axon, soma (cell body) and dendrite
-action potentials are received by dendrites and travel from the soma down the axon
What determines the intensity of an electrical signal for an action potential? - CORRECT
ANSWERS -Frequency of action potentials
List five physiological changes that are associated with activation of the sympathetic nervous
system - CORRECT ANSWERS -Sweating, inhibition of urination, vasoconstriction, increased
heart rate, increased blood flow to muscles,
What are the four lobes of the cerebral cortex and their primary functions? - CORRECT
ANSWERS --Frontal lobe = voluntary movement and higher order thinking
-parietal lobes = tactile sensations, gustation (taste)
-temporal lobes = audition, olfaction, STM, language comprehension, emotion
-occipital lobes = vision
What are the mediums that sound vibrations travel through? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Air (sound
waves) > bone (malleus, incus, and stapes) > fluid (perilymph and endolymph in the cochlea)
What is Weber's law? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Two stimuli must differ by some constant
proportion to be detected as unique form each other
How do peptide hormones and steroid hormones differ in the duration and immediacy of their
effects? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Peptide hormones tend to work rapidly and temporarily while
steroid hormones tend to work more slowly but have more permanent effects
In Baddeley's model, what are the four components of working memory? - CORRECT ANSWERS
-Phonological loop, Visio spatial sketch pad, episodic buffer, and central executive
Confirmation bias - CORRECT ANSWERS -A tendency to only seek information that supports a
preconceived conclusion and ignore information that does not support it
What heuristic may lead ER physician to overestimate the amount of violent crime in his/her
community? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Availability heuristic
Differentiate dyssomnias from parasomnias - CORRECT ANSWERS --Dyssomnias - abnormalities
in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep
-Parasomnias - abnormal behaviors that occur during sleep
, Describe the role of cognition in the Schachter-Singer theory of emotion - CORRECT ANSWERS -
Cognition is the intermediary between physiological sensations and behavioral response. It
interprets the physiological response based on the context which informs the behavioral
response
Language acquisition device - CORRECT ANSWERS -An innate structure hypothesized by
Chomsky unique to the human mind that allows people to gain mastery of language from
limited exposure
Describe the speech of a patient with Wernicke's aphasia - CORRECT ANSWERS -Speech will be
fluent with normal rhythm and syntax. However, the content would be unintelligible and
meaningless
Negative reinforcement vs punishment - CORRECT ANSWERS --negative reinforcement involves
taking something away to encourage/reinforce a behaviour
-negative punishment involves taking something away to stop a behaviour
What are the three factors that interact with each other according to reciprocal determinism? -
CORRECT ANSWERS -The individual, behavior, and the environment
What is the Sapir-worf hypothesis? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Asserts that people understand their
world through language and that language shapes how we experience our world
What type of reinforcement schedule encourages a high frequency of responding and is most
resistant to extinction and why? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Variable ratio schedule because if
subjects keep responding, they will get the reinforcement after an unpredictable amount of
responses. Ex: slot machine
Long term potentiation - CORRECT ANSWERS -Occurs when neurons that are stimulated
together develop an increased sensitivity to each other and have a stronger electrochemical
response than they did before and is thus an increased potential to fire from stimulation;
thought to be an anatomical basis for learning and memory
Genotype vs phenotype - CORRECT ANSWERS -genetic makeup of an organism vs the
observable characteristics and traits (the expression of a genotype)
Rank the three parenting styles in order of the amount of control that parents exert, Fromm
least control to most control - CORRECT ANSWERS -Permissive > authoritative > authoritarian
What type of memory is being utilized by a basketball player who improves her shooting
through repetition? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Procedural memory
What type of amnesia and what type of interference would make it difficult to encode and
recall new information? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Anterograde amnesia and proactive interference
Questions and Answers
Three main parts of a neuron - CORRECT ANSWERS -Axon, soma (cell body) and dendrite
-action potentials are received by dendrites and travel from the soma down the axon
What determines the intensity of an electrical signal for an action potential? - CORRECT
ANSWERS -Frequency of action potentials
List five physiological changes that are associated with activation of the sympathetic nervous
system - CORRECT ANSWERS -Sweating, inhibition of urination, vasoconstriction, increased
heart rate, increased blood flow to muscles,
What are the four lobes of the cerebral cortex and their primary functions? - CORRECT
ANSWERS --Frontal lobe = voluntary movement and higher order thinking
-parietal lobes = tactile sensations, gustation (taste)
-temporal lobes = audition, olfaction, STM, language comprehension, emotion
-occipital lobes = vision
What are the mediums that sound vibrations travel through? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Air (sound
waves) > bone (malleus, incus, and stapes) > fluid (perilymph and endolymph in the cochlea)
What is Weber's law? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Two stimuli must differ by some constant
proportion to be detected as unique form each other
How do peptide hormones and steroid hormones differ in the duration and immediacy of their
effects? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Peptide hormones tend to work rapidly and temporarily while
steroid hormones tend to work more slowly but have more permanent effects
In Baddeley's model, what are the four components of working memory? - CORRECT ANSWERS
-Phonological loop, Visio spatial sketch pad, episodic buffer, and central executive
Confirmation bias - CORRECT ANSWERS -A tendency to only seek information that supports a
preconceived conclusion and ignore information that does not support it
What heuristic may lead ER physician to overestimate the amount of violent crime in his/her
community? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Availability heuristic
Differentiate dyssomnias from parasomnias - CORRECT ANSWERS --Dyssomnias - abnormalities
in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep
-Parasomnias - abnormal behaviors that occur during sleep
, Describe the role of cognition in the Schachter-Singer theory of emotion - CORRECT ANSWERS -
Cognition is the intermediary between physiological sensations and behavioral response. It
interprets the physiological response based on the context which informs the behavioral
response
Language acquisition device - CORRECT ANSWERS -An innate structure hypothesized by
Chomsky unique to the human mind that allows people to gain mastery of language from
limited exposure
Describe the speech of a patient with Wernicke's aphasia - CORRECT ANSWERS -Speech will be
fluent with normal rhythm and syntax. However, the content would be unintelligible and
meaningless
Negative reinforcement vs punishment - CORRECT ANSWERS --negative reinforcement involves
taking something away to encourage/reinforce a behaviour
-negative punishment involves taking something away to stop a behaviour
What are the three factors that interact with each other according to reciprocal determinism? -
CORRECT ANSWERS -The individual, behavior, and the environment
What is the Sapir-worf hypothesis? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Asserts that people understand their
world through language and that language shapes how we experience our world
What type of reinforcement schedule encourages a high frequency of responding and is most
resistant to extinction and why? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Variable ratio schedule because if
subjects keep responding, they will get the reinforcement after an unpredictable amount of
responses. Ex: slot machine
Long term potentiation - CORRECT ANSWERS -Occurs when neurons that are stimulated
together develop an increased sensitivity to each other and have a stronger electrochemical
response than they did before and is thus an increased potential to fire from stimulation;
thought to be an anatomical basis for learning and memory
Genotype vs phenotype - CORRECT ANSWERS -genetic makeup of an organism vs the
observable characteristics and traits (the expression of a genotype)
Rank the three parenting styles in order of the amount of control that parents exert, Fromm
least control to most control - CORRECT ANSWERS -Permissive > authoritative > authoritarian
What type of memory is being utilized by a basketball player who improves her shooting
through repetition? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Procedural memory
What type of amnesia and what type of interference would make it difficult to encode and
recall new information? - CORRECT ANSWERS -Anterograde amnesia and proactive interference
