MCAT Psychology
.Absolute threshold: The minimum stimulus intensity required to activate a sen- sory receptor 50% of the time.
2.Difference threshold (JND): The minimum noticeable difference between two sensory stimuli 50% of the time.
3.Weber's law: States that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion for difference to be perceptible.
4.Spotlight model: Visual attention can shift within the visual field but can only be focused on a single target.
5.Phonological loop: A component of working memory that allows us
to repeat semantic verbal or written information to help us remember it.
6.Visuospatial sketchpad: A component of working memory that allows
us to use mental imagery to help us remember semantic visual information.
7.Episodic buffer: A component of working memory that interacts with information in long term memory.
8.Assimilation: The conformation of experiences into existing schemas.
9.Accommodation: The adjustment of a schema to take into account new experi- ences.
10.Confirmation bias: The tendency to search for information that confirms pre- conceived thinking.
11.Fixation: Inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective.
12.Mental set: A tendency to fixate on solutions that have worked in the past but may not apply to the current situation.
13.Functional fixedness: A tendency to perceive the functions of objects as fixed and unchanging.
14.Representativeness heuristic: A tendency to judge the likelihoods
of an event occurring as based on our typical mental representations of those events.
15.Availability heuristic: A tendency to make judgments based on
how readily available information is in our memories. MCAT Psychology
.Belief bias: The tendency to judge arguments based on what
one believes about their conclusions rather than the use of sound logic.
17.Belief perseverance: A tendency to cling to beliefs despite the
presence of contrary evidence.
18.Awake: Alpha/beta (relaxed) waves, low amplitude, 8-12 Hz.
19.Stage 1: Theta waves, low amplitude, 3-7 Hz.
20.Stage 2: K-complexes/sleep spindles, moderate amplitude, 12-
14Hz bursts.
21.Stage 3: Delta waves (slow wave sleep), high amplitude, 0.5-3 Hz.
22.REM sleep: Sawtooth waves, bursts of quick eye movements, low skeletal muscle movement = "paradoxical sleep" MCAT Psychology
.Activation synthesis theory: A theory that suggests that dreams are byprod- ucts of brain activation during REM sleep.
24.Dyssomnias: Abnormalities in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep.
25.Parasomnias: Abnormal behaviors that occur during sleep, usually occurring during Stage 3.
26.Social influence theory: A theory that suggests that people do and report what is expected of them.
27.Yerkes-Dodson Law: A law that states that the correlation between perfor- mance and emotional arousal is U-shaped.
28.James-Lange theory: Stimulus ’ physical condition ’ emotion
29.Cannon-Bard Theory: Stimulus ’ emotion + physical condition (independent)
30.Schacter-Singer Theory: Stimulus ’ physical response ’ cognitive
appraisal to label the emotion
31.Lazarus Theory: Stimulus ’ cognitive appraisal to label the emotion ’ physical response
32.Nativism (universalism): Humans have a language acquisition device (LAD) that allows the mind to gain mastery of language in early childhood - humans have an innate ability to learn language; thought determines language.
33.Social interactionism: Human social processes play a major role in language acquisition in conjunction with operant conditioning - Vygotsky
34.Linguistic relativism: (Strong) Cognition and perception are determined by the language one speaks.
(Weak) Linguistic structure *influences* cognition and perception.
35.Nonassociative learning: A type of learning in which an organism
is repeatedly exposed to one type of stimulus.
36.Habituation: A decrease in responsiveness to a stimulus due to repeated ex- posure.
.Absolute threshold: The minimum stimulus intensity required to activate a sen- sory receptor 50% of the time.
2.Difference threshold (JND): The minimum noticeable difference between two sensory stimuli 50% of the time.
3.Weber's law: States that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion for difference to be perceptible.
4.Spotlight model: Visual attention can shift within the visual field but can only be focused on a single target.
5.Phonological loop: A component of working memory that allows us
to repeat semantic verbal or written information to help us remember it.
6.Visuospatial sketchpad: A component of working memory that allows
us to use mental imagery to help us remember semantic visual information.
7.Episodic buffer: A component of working memory that interacts with information in long term memory.
8.Assimilation: The conformation of experiences into existing schemas.
9.Accommodation: The adjustment of a schema to take into account new experi- ences.
10.Confirmation bias: The tendency to search for information that confirms pre- conceived thinking.
11.Fixation: Inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective.
12.Mental set: A tendency to fixate on solutions that have worked in the past but may not apply to the current situation.
13.Functional fixedness: A tendency to perceive the functions of objects as fixed and unchanging.
14.Representativeness heuristic: A tendency to judge the likelihoods
of an event occurring as based on our typical mental representations of those events.
15.Availability heuristic: A tendency to make judgments based on
how readily available information is in our memories. MCAT Psychology
.Belief bias: The tendency to judge arguments based on what
one believes about their conclusions rather than the use of sound logic.
17.Belief perseverance: A tendency to cling to beliefs despite the
presence of contrary evidence.
18.Awake: Alpha/beta (relaxed) waves, low amplitude, 8-12 Hz.
19.Stage 1: Theta waves, low amplitude, 3-7 Hz.
20.Stage 2: K-complexes/sleep spindles, moderate amplitude, 12-
14Hz bursts.
21.Stage 3: Delta waves (slow wave sleep), high amplitude, 0.5-3 Hz.
22.REM sleep: Sawtooth waves, bursts of quick eye movements, low skeletal muscle movement = "paradoxical sleep" MCAT Psychology
.Activation synthesis theory: A theory that suggests that dreams are byprod- ucts of brain activation during REM sleep.
24.Dyssomnias: Abnormalities in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep.
25.Parasomnias: Abnormal behaviors that occur during sleep, usually occurring during Stage 3.
26.Social influence theory: A theory that suggests that people do and report what is expected of them.
27.Yerkes-Dodson Law: A law that states that the correlation between perfor- mance and emotional arousal is U-shaped.
28.James-Lange theory: Stimulus ’ physical condition ’ emotion
29.Cannon-Bard Theory: Stimulus ’ emotion + physical condition (independent)
30.Schacter-Singer Theory: Stimulus ’ physical response ’ cognitive
appraisal to label the emotion
31.Lazarus Theory: Stimulus ’ cognitive appraisal to label the emotion ’ physical response
32.Nativism (universalism): Humans have a language acquisition device (LAD) that allows the mind to gain mastery of language in early childhood - humans have an innate ability to learn language; thought determines language.
33.Social interactionism: Human social processes play a major role in language acquisition in conjunction with operant conditioning - Vygotsky
34.Linguistic relativism: (Strong) Cognition and perception are determined by the language one speaks.
(Weak) Linguistic structure *influences* cognition and perception.
35.Nonassociative learning: A type of learning in which an organism
is repeatedly exposed to one type of stimulus.
36.Habituation: A decrease in responsiveness to a stimulus due to repeated ex- posure.
