MCAT behavioral
sciences Questions with
Correct Answers
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
sciences Questions with
Correct Answers
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
