MCAT behavioral sciences exam with
complete solutions
just noticeable difference jnd - ANSWER-minimum difference in magnitude between two
stimuli before one can perceive this difference
Weber's law - ANSWER-there is a constant ratio between the change in stimulus
magnitude needed to produce a jnd (higher stimulus will need a larger difference to
produce a jnd)
Signal detection theory - ANSWER-changes in out perception of the sam stimuli
depending on both internal and external context (how loud would someone need to yell
your name in a crowd for you to hear their name?)
response bias - ANSWER-subjects respond in a certain way due to non sensory factors
duplexity (duplicity theory of vision) - ANSWER-retina contain two kinds of
photoreceptores: those specialized for light and dark detection and those specialized for
color section
cones - ANSWER-used for color vision and sense fine details- most effective in bright
light and comes in 3 forms (blue, red, green)
rods - ANSWER-more functional and only allow sensation of light and dark because
they all contain a single pigment (rhodopsin)- low sensitivity but allow night vision (more
rods than cones)
fovea - ANSWER-center most part of the eye and only contains cones
optic chiasm - ANSWER-fiber from the nasal half of each rating cross paths
parallel processing - ANSWER-ability to simultaneously analyze and combine
information regarding color, shape, and motion
,two point threshold - ANSWER-minimum distance necessary between two points of
stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as two distinct stimuli
gate theory of pain - ANSWER-proposes that there is a special gating mechanism that
can turn pain signals on or off, affecting whether or not we perceive pain
Kinesthetic sensation (proprioception) - ANSWER-ability to tell where one's body is in
space
Bottom up processing - ANSWER-refers to object recognition by parallel processing and
feature detection- brain takes individual sensory stimuli and combines them together to
create a cohesive image before determining what the object is
top down processing - ANSWER-driven by memories and expectations that allow the
brain to recognize the whole object and then recognize the components based on these
expectations (quickly recognize objects without needing to analyze specific parts)
Gestalt principles - ANSWER-law of proximity
law of similarity
law of good continuation
law of closure
law of pragnanz
law of proximity - ANSWER-elects close together tend to be perceived as a unit
law of similarity - ANSWER-objects that are similar tend to be grouped together
law of good continuation - ANSWER-elements that appear to follow in the same
pathway tend to be grouped together
law of closure - ANSWER-when a space is enclosed by a contour it tends to be
perceived as a complete figure
law of pragnanz - ANSWER-perceptual organization will always be as regular, simple,
and symmetric as possible
associative learning - ANSWER-creation of pairing, or association, wither between two
stimuli or between a behavior or response
classical conditioning - ANSWER-type of associative learning that takes advantage of
biological instinctual responses to create associations between two unrelated stimuli
, (dog starts to salivate when he hears a bell ring due to the fact that when the bell rings
he is given a treat)
acquisition - ANSWER-training of a conditioned stimulus
extinction - ANSWER-loss of conditioned stimulus
spontaneous recovery - ANSWER-weak response is exhibited
generalization - ANSWER-broadening effect of a conditions stimulus (little Albert
exhibits fear of rat and generalizes it to a rabbit)
discrimination - ANSWER-organism learns to distinguish between two similar stimuli
operant conditioning - ANSWER-links voluntary behaviors with consequences in an
effort to alter the frequency of those behaviors
B.F. skinner - ANSWER-father of behaviorism
reinforcement - ANSWER-process of increasing the likelihood that an individual will
perform a behavior
positive reinforcement - ANSWER-increase a behavior by adding a positive
consequence or incentive
negative reinforcement - ANSWER-increase behavior by removing something
unpleasant
punishment - ANSWER-used to reduce a behavior
positive punishment - ANSWER-adds unpleasant consequences in response to a
behavior to reduce behavior
negative punishment - ANSWER-reduction of a behavior when a stimulus is removed
(taking phone away to punish the child)
latent learning - ANSWER-occurs without a reward but this is spontaneously
demonstrated once a reward is introduced
self reference effect - ANSWER-learn the best when put the information into context of
our own lives
complete solutions
just noticeable difference jnd - ANSWER-minimum difference in magnitude between two
stimuli before one can perceive this difference
Weber's law - ANSWER-there is a constant ratio between the change in stimulus
magnitude needed to produce a jnd (higher stimulus will need a larger difference to
produce a jnd)
Signal detection theory - ANSWER-changes in out perception of the sam stimuli
depending on both internal and external context (how loud would someone need to yell
your name in a crowd for you to hear their name?)
response bias - ANSWER-subjects respond in a certain way due to non sensory factors
duplexity (duplicity theory of vision) - ANSWER-retina contain two kinds of
photoreceptores: those specialized for light and dark detection and those specialized for
color section
cones - ANSWER-used for color vision and sense fine details- most effective in bright
light and comes in 3 forms (blue, red, green)
rods - ANSWER-more functional and only allow sensation of light and dark because
they all contain a single pigment (rhodopsin)- low sensitivity but allow night vision (more
rods than cones)
fovea - ANSWER-center most part of the eye and only contains cones
optic chiasm - ANSWER-fiber from the nasal half of each rating cross paths
parallel processing - ANSWER-ability to simultaneously analyze and combine
information regarding color, shape, and motion
,two point threshold - ANSWER-minimum distance necessary between two points of
stimulation on the skin such that the points will be felt as two distinct stimuli
gate theory of pain - ANSWER-proposes that there is a special gating mechanism that
can turn pain signals on or off, affecting whether or not we perceive pain
Kinesthetic sensation (proprioception) - ANSWER-ability to tell where one's body is in
space
Bottom up processing - ANSWER-refers to object recognition by parallel processing and
feature detection- brain takes individual sensory stimuli and combines them together to
create a cohesive image before determining what the object is
top down processing - ANSWER-driven by memories and expectations that allow the
brain to recognize the whole object and then recognize the components based on these
expectations (quickly recognize objects without needing to analyze specific parts)
Gestalt principles - ANSWER-law of proximity
law of similarity
law of good continuation
law of closure
law of pragnanz
law of proximity - ANSWER-elects close together tend to be perceived as a unit
law of similarity - ANSWER-objects that are similar tend to be grouped together
law of good continuation - ANSWER-elements that appear to follow in the same
pathway tend to be grouped together
law of closure - ANSWER-when a space is enclosed by a contour it tends to be
perceived as a complete figure
law of pragnanz - ANSWER-perceptual organization will always be as regular, simple,
and symmetric as possible
associative learning - ANSWER-creation of pairing, or association, wither between two
stimuli or between a behavior or response
classical conditioning - ANSWER-type of associative learning that takes advantage of
biological instinctual responses to create associations between two unrelated stimuli
, (dog starts to salivate when he hears a bell ring due to the fact that when the bell rings
he is given a treat)
acquisition - ANSWER-training of a conditioned stimulus
extinction - ANSWER-loss of conditioned stimulus
spontaneous recovery - ANSWER-weak response is exhibited
generalization - ANSWER-broadening effect of a conditions stimulus (little Albert
exhibits fear of rat and generalizes it to a rabbit)
discrimination - ANSWER-organism learns to distinguish between two similar stimuli
operant conditioning - ANSWER-links voluntary behaviors with consequences in an
effort to alter the frequency of those behaviors
B.F. skinner - ANSWER-father of behaviorism
reinforcement - ANSWER-process of increasing the likelihood that an individual will
perform a behavior
positive reinforcement - ANSWER-increase a behavior by adding a positive
consequence or incentive
negative reinforcement - ANSWER-increase behavior by removing something
unpleasant
punishment - ANSWER-used to reduce a behavior
positive punishment - ANSWER-adds unpleasant consequences in response to a
behavior to reduce behavior
negative punishment - ANSWER-reduction of a behavior when a stimulus is removed
(taking phone away to punish the child)
latent learning - ANSWER-occurs without a reward but this is spontaneously
demonstrated once a reward is introduced
self reference effect - ANSWER-learn the best when put the information into context of
our own lives
