MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior Syllabus

State the Whorfian (linguistic relativity) hypothesis.

Language shapes or influences thought and perception; speakers of different languages may perceive and think about the world differently.

Compare Maslow's hierarchy of needs from bottom to top.

Physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization (with self-transcendence added later); lower needs are generally met before higher ones motivate behavior.

Contrast drive-reduction theory with arousal theory (Yerkes-Dodson law) of motivation.

Drive-reduction: behavior reduces internal tension to restore homeostasis. Arousal theory: we seek an optimal arousal level; Yerkes-Dodson states performance peaks at moderate arousal (lower optimum for difficult tasks).

Compare the James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and Schachter-Singer theories of emotion.

James-Lange: physiological arousal precedes and causes emotion. Cannon-Bard: arousal and emotion occur simultaneously and independently. Schachter-Singer (two-factor): emotion = physiological arousal + cognitive label of that arousal.

What brain structure is the primary processor of fear and emotional memory?

The amygdala, part of the limbic system.

Describe Erikson's psychosocial stages by listing the central conflict of each of the eight stages.

Trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame/doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, integrity vs. despair.

Differentiate Kohlberg's three levels of moral development.

Preconventional (obedience/self-interest), conventional (social approval/law and order), and postconventional (social contract and universal ethical principles).

Define self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy.

Self-concept is the sum of beliefs about oneself; self-esteem is one's overall evaluation of self-worth; self-efficacy is belief in one's ability to succeed at a specific task.

What is the looking-glass self and which theorist proposed it?

Charles Cooley's concept that we form our self-image based on how we believe others perceive and judge us.

List the Big Five (OCEAN) personality traits.

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Identify the three components of Freud's structural model of personality.

Id (unconscious, pleasure principle), ego (reality principle, mediator), and superego (internalized morals/ideals).

What distinguishes the humanistic theory of personality (Rogers/Maslow) from other approaches?

It emphasizes free will, self-actualization, and personal growth; Rogers stressed unconditional positive regard and congruence between the real and ideal self.

Differentiate Type I (positive) from Type II (negative) symptoms of schizophrenia.

Positive symptoms add abnormal experiences (hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech); negative symptoms reflect deficits (flat affect, avolition, social withdrawal, alogia).

Distinguish bipolar I from bipolar II disorder.

Bipolar I requires at least one full manic episode (major depression not required); bipolar II requires at least one hypomanic episode plus a major depressive episode, with no full mania.

Contrast the major anxiety-related disorders: generalized anxiety, panic, phobia, and OCD.

GAD: persistent excessive worry. Panic disorder: recurrent unexpected panic attacks. Specific phobia: intense fear of a specific object/situation. OCD: obsessions (intrusive thoughts) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors); now classified separately from anxiety disorders.

What is the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia symptoms, especially positive symptoms, are associated with excess dopamine activity (overactive D2 receptors) in mesolimbic pathways.

Define the fundamental attribution error.

The tendency to overemphasize dispositional (internal) causes and underemphasize situational (external) causes when explaining others' behavior.

Distinguish the three components of an attitude in the ABC model.

Affective (feelings), Behavioral (actions/tendencies), and Cognitive (beliefs/thoughts).

What is cognitive dissonance and how is it resolved?

The mental discomfort from holding conflicting attitudes/behaviors; resolved by changing a belief, changing behavior, or adding justifications to restore consistency (Festinger).

Compare the central and peripheral routes to persuasion (elaboration likelihood model).

Central route persuades through logical argument content (high elaboration, lasting change); peripheral route persuades through superficial cues like attractiveness or quantity of arguments (low elaboration, temporary).

Differentiate conformity, compliance, and obedience.

Conformity: matching behavior to group norms (Asch). Compliance: agreeing to a direct request (foot-in-the-door). Obedience: following orders from an authority figure (Milgram).

What is the bystander effect and the diffusion of responsibility?

The bystander effect is the reduced likelihood of helping when others are present; diffusion of responsibility is the underlying mechanism where each person assumes someone else will act.

Compare social facilitation with social loafing.

Social facilitation: presence of others improves performance on simple/well-learned tasks (and worsens complex ones). Social loafing: individuals exert less effort in a group than alone.

Identify the major neurotransmitters and one key function of each: dopamine, serotonin, GABA, acetylcholine.

Dopamine: reward/movement; serotonin: mood/sleep/appetite; GABA: primary inhibitory neurotransmitter; acetylcholine: muscle activation and memory.

What roles do the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems play?

Sympathetic activates 'fight-or-flight' (increases heart rate, dilates pupils); parasympathetic promotes 'rest-and-digest' (slows heart rate, stimulates digestion).

Compare the four major sociological theoretical perspectives.

Functionalism: society as interrelated parts maintaining stability. Conflict theory: society as competition over scarce resources/power. Symbolic interactionism: society built from individual meanings and interactions. Social constructionism: reality is socially created.

Distinguish a master status from an achieved status and an ascribed status.

Ascribed status is assigned at birth/involuntarily (e.g., race); achieved status is earned (e.g., physician); master status is the status that dominates how others view a person and overrides others.

Differentiate the major systems of social stratification: caste vs. class.

Caste systems are closed, ascribed at birth with no mobility; class systems are open, based partly on achievement and allow social mobility.

Define meritocracy, social reproduction, and intersectionality.

Meritocracy: status based on ability/effort. Social reproduction: structures transmitting inequality across generations. Intersectionality: overlapping social identities (race, gender, class) compounding discrimination/privilege.

What are the components of the demographic transition model?

A four/five-stage shift from high birth and death rates (pre-industrial), to falling death rates with high birth rates (population growth), to falling birth rates, to low birth and death rates (stable), as societies industrialize.

Define push and pull factors in migration and the difference between fertility, mortality, and migration rates.

Push factors drive people from an area (war, famine); pull factors attract them (jobs, safety). Fertility rate = births per woman; mortality rate = deaths per population; migration rate = net movement into/out of a population—together these drive population change.