MCAT PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY REVIEW EXAM WITH
COMPLETE AND ACCURATE SOLUTIONS
absolute poverty -- Answer ✔✔ inability to meet a bare minimum of basic necessities,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
including clean drinking water, food, safe housing, and reliable access to healthcare
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
acetylcholine (ACh) -- Answer ✔✔ the neurotransmitter used at the neuromuscular
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
junction, throughout the PNS and by the preganglionic neurons of the SNS
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
acetylcholinesterase -- Answer ✔✔ the enzyme that breaks down ACh in the synaptic _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
cleft
achieved status -- Answer ✔✔ statuses that are considered to be due largely to an
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
individual's efforts _
acquisition -- Answer ✔✔ in classical conditioning, the process of learning the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
association between a conditioned stimulus and response
_ _ _ _ _ _
action potential -- Answer ✔✔ localized change in the neuron's membrane potential
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
that propagates away from its point of origin. All-or-none processes mediated by the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
opening of voltage gated sodium and potassium channels when the membrane is
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
brought to threshold potential; opening of sodium channels causes characteristic
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
depolarization, while opening sodium channels repolarizes the membrane
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
activation-synthesis theory -- Answer ✔✔ theory that dreams are simply byproducts of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_brain activation during REM sleep. Suggests that the content of dreams is not
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
purposeful or meaningful _ _
actor-observer bias/self-serving bias -- Answer ✔✔ tendency to blame our actions on
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
the situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
,addiction -- Answer ✔✔ a compulsion to do an act repeatedly; can consist of a
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
psychological dependence and/or a physical dependence as evidenced by drug addiction
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_withdrawal
adrenal cortex -- Answer ✔✔ outer region of the adrenal gland. the adrenal cortex
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
produces cortisol in response to long-term chronic stress and aldosterone in response
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
to low blood pressure and blood osmolarity
_ _ _ _ _ _
adrenal medulla -- Answer ✔✔ inner region of the adrenal gland, and part of the SNS
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
and releases epinephrine and norepinephrine into the bloodstream when stimulated.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Epi and norepi. prolong and enhance the effect of the sympathetic stimulation on the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
body
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) -- Answer ✔✔ a tropic hormone produced by _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
the anterior pituitary gland that targets the adrenal cortex, stimulating it to release
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
cortisol and aldosterone _ _
affect -- Answer ✔✔ a person's visible emotion in the moment
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
affirmative action -- Answer ✔✔ policies that take factors like race and sex into
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
consideration to benefit underrepresented groups in admissions or job hiring decisions;
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_these policies have been used to benefit those believed to be current or past victims
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
of discrimination
_
aggregate -- Answer ✔✔ people who exist in the same space but do not interact or
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
share a common sense of identity
_ _ _ _ _
aggression -- Answer ✔✔ behavior that is forceful, hostile, or attacking. in sociology,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
aggression is considered something that is intended to cause harm or promote social
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
dominance within a group _ _ _
Mary Ainsworth -- Answer ✔✔ famous for her strange situation experiments where
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
mothers would leave their infants in an unfamiliar environment to see how they would
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
react. Studies suggested a distinction between securely attached infants and insecurely
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
attached infants _
,algorithm -- Answer ✔✔ a step-by-step detailing the steps that aids with problem
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
solving
alpha waves -- Answer ✔✔ low amplitude, high frequency brain waves present in a
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
relaxed state. alpha waves are the first indicator that a person is ready to drift off to
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
sleep
altruism -- Answer ✔✔ a behavior that helps ensure the success or survival of the rest
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
of the social group, possibly at the expense of the success or survival of the individual
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Alzheimer's disease -- Answer ✔✔ most prevalent forms of the dementia,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
characterized behaviorally by the inability to form new memories, known as
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
anterograde amnesia _
amalgamation -- Answer ✔✔ occurs when majority and minority groups combine to
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
form a new group_ _ _
amygdala -- Answer ✔✔ almond-shaped structure deep within the brain that
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
orchestrates emotional experiences _ _
anal stage -- Answer ✔✔ the second stage of Freud's five psychosexual stages; in this
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
stage the child seeks sensual pleasure through control of elimination
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
anterior pituitary gland -- Answer ✔✔ adenohypophysis and is made of glandular tissue
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_and it makes and secretes six different hormones: FSH, LH, ACTH, TSH, prolactin,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
and growth hormone. it is controlled by releasing and inhibiting factors from the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
hypothalamus
anterograde amnesia -- Answer ✔✔ inability to form new memories
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
antisocial personality disorder -- Answer ✔✔ psychological disorder characterized by a
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
history of serious behavior problems beginning in adolescence, including significant
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
aggression against people or animals, deliberate property destruction, lying or theft,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
and serious rule violation
_ _ _
, anxiety disorder -- Answer ✔✔ emotional state of unpleasant physical and mental
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
arousal; a preparation to fight or flee. in a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
is intense, frequent, irrational (out of proportion), and uncontrollable; it causes
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
significant distress or impairment of normal functioning
_ _ _ _ _ _
aqueous humor -- Answer ✔✔ thin, watery fluid found in the anterior segment of the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
eye (between lens and cornea). The aqueous humor is constantly produced and
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
drained, and helps brings nutrients to the lens and cornea, as well as remove metabolic
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_wastes
Solomon Asch -- Answer ✔✔ Conducted research on conformity and group pressure
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
by placing subjects in a room with several confederates and observing behavior of the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
subject when the confederates provided clearly wrong answers to questions
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ascribed status -- Answer ✔✔ statuses that are assigned to a person by society
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
regardless of the person's own efforts _ _ _ _ _
assimilation -- Answer ✔✔ process in which an individual forsakes aspects of his or her
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_own cultural tradition to adopt those of a different culture. Generally, this individual is
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
a member of a minority group who is attempting to conform to the culture of the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
dominant group _
associative learning -- Answer ✔✔ process of learning in which one event, object, or
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
action is directly connected with another. Two general categories include classical and
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
operant conditioning _
Attenuation model of selective attention -- Answer ✔✔ model of selective attention in
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
which the mind has an attentuator, like a volume knob, that can tune up inputs to be
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
attended and tune down unattended inputs, rather than totally eliminating them
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(accounts for the cocktail party effect) _ _ _ _ _
attitude -- Answer ✔✔ person's feelings and beliefs about other people or events
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
around him, and his behavioral restrictions based on those underlying evaluations
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
COMPLETE AND ACCURATE SOLUTIONS
absolute poverty -- Answer ✔✔ inability to meet a bare minimum of basic necessities,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
including clean drinking water, food, safe housing, and reliable access to healthcare
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
acetylcholine (ACh) -- Answer ✔✔ the neurotransmitter used at the neuromuscular
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
junction, throughout the PNS and by the preganglionic neurons of the SNS
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
acetylcholinesterase -- Answer ✔✔ the enzyme that breaks down ACh in the synaptic _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
cleft
achieved status -- Answer ✔✔ statuses that are considered to be due largely to an
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
individual's efforts _
acquisition -- Answer ✔✔ in classical conditioning, the process of learning the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
association between a conditioned stimulus and response
_ _ _ _ _ _
action potential -- Answer ✔✔ localized change in the neuron's membrane potential
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
that propagates away from its point of origin. All-or-none processes mediated by the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
opening of voltage gated sodium and potassium channels when the membrane is
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
brought to threshold potential; opening of sodium channels causes characteristic
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
depolarization, while opening sodium channels repolarizes the membrane
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
activation-synthesis theory -- Answer ✔✔ theory that dreams are simply byproducts of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_brain activation during REM sleep. Suggests that the content of dreams is not
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
purposeful or meaningful _ _
actor-observer bias/self-serving bias -- Answer ✔✔ tendency to blame our actions on
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
the situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
,addiction -- Answer ✔✔ a compulsion to do an act repeatedly; can consist of a
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
psychological dependence and/or a physical dependence as evidenced by drug addiction
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_withdrawal
adrenal cortex -- Answer ✔✔ outer region of the adrenal gland. the adrenal cortex
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
produces cortisol in response to long-term chronic stress and aldosterone in response
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
to low blood pressure and blood osmolarity
_ _ _ _ _ _
adrenal medulla -- Answer ✔✔ inner region of the adrenal gland, and part of the SNS
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
and releases epinephrine and norepinephrine into the bloodstream when stimulated.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Epi and norepi. prolong and enhance the effect of the sympathetic stimulation on the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
body
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) -- Answer ✔✔ a tropic hormone produced by _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
the anterior pituitary gland that targets the adrenal cortex, stimulating it to release
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
cortisol and aldosterone _ _
affect -- Answer ✔✔ a person's visible emotion in the moment
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
affirmative action -- Answer ✔✔ policies that take factors like race and sex into
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
consideration to benefit underrepresented groups in admissions or job hiring decisions;
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_these policies have been used to benefit those believed to be current or past victims
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
of discrimination
_
aggregate -- Answer ✔✔ people who exist in the same space but do not interact or
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
share a common sense of identity
_ _ _ _ _
aggression -- Answer ✔✔ behavior that is forceful, hostile, or attacking. in sociology,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
aggression is considered something that is intended to cause harm or promote social
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
dominance within a group _ _ _
Mary Ainsworth -- Answer ✔✔ famous for her strange situation experiments where
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
mothers would leave their infants in an unfamiliar environment to see how they would
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
react. Studies suggested a distinction between securely attached infants and insecurely
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
attached infants _
,algorithm -- Answer ✔✔ a step-by-step detailing the steps that aids with problem
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
solving
alpha waves -- Answer ✔✔ low amplitude, high frequency brain waves present in a
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
relaxed state. alpha waves are the first indicator that a person is ready to drift off to
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
sleep
altruism -- Answer ✔✔ a behavior that helps ensure the success or survival of the rest
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
of the social group, possibly at the expense of the success or survival of the individual
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Alzheimer's disease -- Answer ✔✔ most prevalent forms of the dementia,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
characterized behaviorally by the inability to form new memories, known as
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
anterograde amnesia _
amalgamation -- Answer ✔✔ occurs when majority and minority groups combine to
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
form a new group_ _ _
amygdala -- Answer ✔✔ almond-shaped structure deep within the brain that
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
orchestrates emotional experiences _ _
anal stage -- Answer ✔✔ the second stage of Freud's five psychosexual stages; in this
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
stage the child seeks sensual pleasure through control of elimination
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
anterior pituitary gland -- Answer ✔✔ adenohypophysis and is made of glandular tissue
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_and it makes and secretes six different hormones: FSH, LH, ACTH, TSH, prolactin,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
and growth hormone. it is controlled by releasing and inhibiting factors from the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
hypothalamus
anterograde amnesia -- Answer ✔✔ inability to form new memories
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
antisocial personality disorder -- Answer ✔✔ psychological disorder characterized by a
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
history of serious behavior problems beginning in adolescence, including significant
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
aggression against people or animals, deliberate property destruction, lying or theft,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
and serious rule violation
_ _ _
, anxiety disorder -- Answer ✔✔ emotional state of unpleasant physical and mental
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
arousal; a preparation to fight or flee. in a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
is intense, frequent, irrational (out of proportion), and uncontrollable; it causes
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
significant distress or impairment of normal functioning
_ _ _ _ _ _
aqueous humor -- Answer ✔✔ thin, watery fluid found in the anterior segment of the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
eye (between lens and cornea). The aqueous humor is constantly produced and
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
drained, and helps brings nutrients to the lens and cornea, as well as remove metabolic
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_wastes
Solomon Asch -- Answer ✔✔ Conducted research on conformity and group pressure
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
by placing subjects in a room with several confederates and observing behavior of the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
subject when the confederates provided clearly wrong answers to questions
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ascribed status -- Answer ✔✔ statuses that are assigned to a person by society
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
regardless of the person's own efforts _ _ _ _ _
assimilation -- Answer ✔✔ process in which an individual forsakes aspects of his or her
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_own cultural tradition to adopt those of a different culture. Generally, this individual is
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
a member of a minority group who is attempting to conform to the culture of the
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
dominant group _
associative learning -- Answer ✔✔ process of learning in which one event, object, or
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
action is directly connected with another. Two general categories include classical and
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
operant conditioning _
Attenuation model of selective attention -- Answer ✔✔ model of selective attention in
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
which the mind has an attentuator, like a volume knob, that can tune up inputs to be
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
attended and tune down unattended inputs, rather than totally eliminating them
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(accounts for the cocktail party effect) _ _ _ _ _
attitude -- Answer ✔✔ person's feelings and beliefs about other people or events
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
around him, and his behavioral restrictions based on those underlying evaluations
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
