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FL 1 PS Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 2 main research designs?

A

Cross sectional design or an experimental design

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2
Q

what are cross sectional studies?

A

they investigate a population at a single point in time, looks for predictive relationships among variables

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3
Q

what are limitations of cross sectional studies

A

they show correlations but NOT causations bc looking at changes over time is required to assess if a cause and effect relationship is present

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4
Q

what is an experimental design

A

in this type of study, researchers manipulate a certain variable (IV) to see the effects it has and the measured effects are the DV

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5
Q

what are the 4 types of variables interfere with the IV and DV

A

confounding variables
continuous variables
moderating variables
mediating variables

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6
Q

what is a confounding variable

A

it is one that affects both the IV and DV and are an extraneous variable outside of the researcher’s interest

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7
Q

How do depressants affect the nervous system

A

they relax the body and reduce the nervous system activity, common ex is alcohol

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8
Q

how does alcohol affect the body

A
  • it stimulates GABA aka inhibitory NT associated w reduced anxiety and dopamine (which promotes euphoria)
  • alcohol slows frontal lobe activity thus reducing judgement and lowering inhibitions
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9
Q

how do opiates affect the body

A

opiates cause sense of euphoria, decreased rxn to pain by binding to opioid receptors in NS
- prolonged use causes brain to completely stop producing endorphins

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10
Q

what are 3 symptoms of opioid withdrawal

A

increased perspiration, tremors, increased anxiety

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11
Q

how do stimulants affect the NS

A

increase NS by release and inhibition of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin reuptake

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12
Q

symptoms of stimulants on the body

A

increases arousal, HR, BP, and creates effects of anxiety, delusions of grandeur, euphoria, hypervigilance, and decreased appetite

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13
Q

2 ex of hallucinogens

A

lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and ketamine

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14
Q

how do hallucinogens affect the body

A

distort perception, enhance sensory experiences, and cause introspection
- increase HR and BP, increase Body temp, and dilate pupils

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15
Q

affects of marijuana on the body

A
  • mix of stim, depressant, and hallucinogen
  • active chem is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
  • THC increases GABA production and dopamine
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16
Q

symptoms of marijuana on the body

A

increase appetite, dry mouth, fatigue, eye redness, lowered BP and increased HR

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17
Q

what is the drive reduction theory

A

states that common physiological and bio needs like hunger, thirst, and warmth are the primary drivers of human motivation
- pp are motivated to satisfy these needs in order to restore internal equilibrium after which our motivation subsides

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18
Q

frontal lobe is involved in?

A

human’s ability to project future consequences of current actions

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19
Q

what does limbic system regulate

A

regulates emotion and memory

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20
Q

what does the HT coordinate

A

coordinates many hormones some of which are involved in mood regulation

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21
Q

what does incidence calc

A

the number of new cases of a disease during a specific time interval

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22
Q

what does prevalence calc

A

how common a disease is, it tells how many pp have a condition (both new cases and current ones) within a population at a given time

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23
Q

what does mortality calculate

A

describe the number of deaths caused by a certain condition within a specific population in a certain amt of time

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24
Q

what is a case control design

A

it compares info about pp with a disease/condition against pp without the disease/condition

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25
3 main sociological theories for MCAT
1. symbolic interactionism 2. conflict theory 3. functionalism
26
what is symbolic interactionism
the symbolic meaning that pp develop and rely on in social interactions
27
symbolic interactionism view that a person's __________ influences __________________
symbolic interactionism is the view that a person's experiences influence his/her perceptions
28
ex of symbolic interactionism
smoking bc social symbolism is pt of contention across social groups - smoking used to be seen as trendy and so everyone did it, now its seen as not so good
29
what is conflict theory
the role of coercion and power in producing social order - sees society as fragmented into groups that compete for social and economic resources
30
according to conflict theory how is social order determined
social order is maintained by those w the most power, have the greatest political, economical, and social capital
31
what is functionalism
views society as a system of interconnected parts that carry out a specific role that enables them to cooperate to maintain social equilibrium for society as a whole
32
what is sociobiology
a theoretical perspective (focused on behavior) that states that social differences are rooted in biology - ex increased aggression and violent behavior in FEV KO mice compared to WT mice
33
which theory describes deviance
the structural strain theory
34
what is the structural strain theory
states that origins of deviance to the tensions that are caused by the gap bw societal goals and the means pp have available to achieve said goals
35
what is anomie
describes social instability caused by breakdown of social bonds, social norms, bw individuals and communities
36
what is rational choice theory
pp make individualistic rational and calculated decisions about all things in their lives - pp motivated by money and calc cost and benefits of any action before deciding what to do
37
what is the game theory
views social interactions as a game where there are winners, losers, and proper ways to play in order to achieve "victory"
38
social exchange theory
views society as a series of interactions that are based on estimates of rewards and punishments - posits that interactions are determined by the rewards/punishments that we receive from others
39
what perspective did hans eysenck have on personality
genetics of personality had a biological perspective that emphasized influence of genetics and brain bio in determining a person's behavioral, emotional, and cognitive patterns
40
what perspective did abraham maslow have on personality
hierarchy of needs - had humanistic perspective of personality where he formed a hierarchy of needs to describe the physiological and psychological needs that pp require to be fulfilled
41
what perspective did BF skinner have on personality
behavioralism - had a behavioralist perspective of personality, he studied the ability of operant conditioning to modify personality over time
42
what perspective of personality did gordon allport have on personality
known for connection w the trait perspective of personality argued 3 key types of traits contribute to personality - cardinal traits, central traits, and secondary traits
43
what is ethnocentrism
a world view where they view others cultures through the lens of one's own cultures
44
what are cognitive biases
ways in which our perceptions and judgements systematically differ from reality - mainly thought of as unavoidable features of cog system but can be adaptive in some cases
45
what is the representativeness heuristic
tendency to make decisions/actions based upon standard representations of those events - this bias is used when making decisions based on what we consider the prototypical ex of a category - commonly seen when we have to judge how probable something is - A classic example is assuming someone wearing glasses and reading a book is more likely to be an academic than someone in work clothes
46
what is the availability heuristic
tendency to make decisions about how likely an action/event is based upon how readily available similar info is in our memories - used for judging probability of an event but is influenced by ex of certain phenomenon that come to mind quickly
47
what is belief bias
tendency to believe that pp have to judge things based not upon sound logic, but upon already held beliefs
48
what is confirmation bias
tendency that pp have to focus on info that is in agreement with the beliefs they already have rather than info that is contrary to those beliefs
49
what is fundamental attribution error
tendency to place less importance on the import of a situation or context on behavior, and instead place undue emphasis on dispositional or internal qualities in order to explain behavior
50
actor observer bias
the tendency to blame our own actions on external situations but the actions of others on personality
51
self serving bias
tendency pp have to credit their success to themselves and their failures to the actions of others or to situations
52
in group bias
pp are biased towards those viewed as being part of their in-group
53
social desirability bias
tendency that pp have to give socially approved responses to questions in the context of research
54
distress, eustress, and neustress
1. distress is negative type of stress, bad for health - occurs when situation is perceived as threatening (physically/emotionally) and body becomes primed to response to the threat 2. eustress is a positive type of stress - occurs when you have a situation thats challenging but motivating 3. neustress is a neutral type of stress - exposed to something stressful but it does not actively/directly affect you - ex natural disaster on other side of world
55
primary and secondary response to stress
1. fight or flight - sympathetic NS causes adrenal glands to release E (adrenaline) and NE (noradrenaline) - increases HR, respiration, decrease bloodflow to digestive sys, musculoskeletal sys and dulls pain 2. cognitive - HT releases CRH (stim pituitary gland to produce ACTH) - cortisol helps bod maintain the continuous supply of blood sugar to maintain stress response - upregulates gluconeogenesis and mobilize free FA and AA from body stores
56
what is the cognitive dissonance theory
describes what occurs when someone w certain attitude/behavior is confronted w conflicting evidence - based on idea that pp strive to some level of consistency, so pp modify their behaviors/attitudes to minimize internal perceptions of inconsistency
57
what are the 3 core components of emotion
1. physiological arousal - how body reacts to emotion/emotional info/stim 2. expressive displays - how you express your emotions 3. subjective experience - how you feel and interpret your emotions, extremely personal and subjective
58
what did paul ekman study
created list of universal emotions thought to be more biologically based than others
59
what are the 7 universal emotions
anger contempt disgust fear happiness sadness surprise
60
what are the 3 main emotion theories that explain how the cognitive and physiological aspects are connected
there are 3 main theories 1. james-lange 2. cannon-bard 3. schacter-singer
61
what is the James Lange theory of emotion
hypothesized that stimulus triggers a physiological response which leads to the subjective, conscious experience of emotion
62
ex of James Lange theory of emotion
you watch a scary movie, you HR increases and that leads to perception of fear
63
limitation of James Lange theory
limited bc certain physiological states may be expressed as diff emotions depending on context (increased HR can mean fear or excitement)
64
what is the Cannon Bard theory of emotion
hypothesizes that cognitive and physiological responses to a stimulus occur simultaneously and INDEPENDENTLY of one another w a behavioral response following them
65
limitation of Cannon Bard theory
theory lacks any element of cognitive appraisal, or conscious thought about how one's situation may impact the emotions felt
66
what is the Schachter-Singer Theory of emotion
views emotion as result of interaction bw 2 factors: physiological arousal and cognition - claims that physiological arousal is cognitively interpreted within the context of each situation which ultimately produces an emotional experience - cognitive interpretation (how a pp label and understand what they are experiencing) are formed based on pp's past experiences
67
what are 2 factors required for an experiment/test to have value
be reliable and valid
68
reliability
refers to how consistent and repeatable an exp/assessment iss
69
what is test-test reliability
the fact that a good test should give stable results over time
70
what is inter-rater reliability
if test is carried out by diff researchers, they should still generate similar results
71
what is validty
measure of how well a given experiment actually measures what it sets out to measure
72
internal validty
the study has internally been well constructed - means having large random samples, safeguards against confounding variables, reasonable, reliable process etc
73
what is external validity
can results of experiment be generalized to other settings
74
what is construct validty
refers to how well a given assessment actually measures what it claims to measure, whether it has been properly constructed to measure the relevant thing
75
what is construct validity
Construct validity refers to the extent to which a test or measure accurately assesses the underlying theoretical concept (construct) it is intended to measure. It essentially checks if a test is truly measuring what it claims to measure, rather than something else
76
difference between symbolic interactionism and social constructivism
1. symbolic interactionism (micro) - how we use symbols to interact/communicate w each other 2. social constructivism (macro) - how we as a society construct abstract concepts and principles (think abt beliefs and values)
77
what is causation bias
tendency to infer cause and effect relationships incorrectly either bc one event follows another or bc the 2 events tend to co-occur (confusing correlation w causation)
78
difference between heuristics and biases
- heuristics are themselves problem-solving methods aka help us solve problems that work often in practical purposes (mcat specifically asks to assess probability of certain outcome) - biases are more general cognitive patterns that affect decision making processes
79
what type of experiment design requires control groups
an experimental design

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