Transcription
Psychology and Sociology
Today’s InfoSessionuWelcome to this Info Session!uIntroductionuuuPsychologyuHow it fits into the MCATuPerception and sensationuMemoryHow Can Next Step Help?Questions?WHAT IS YOUR NEXT STEP?
IntroductionHi, I’m Phil!uMCAT Content writeruTutored and taught for 9 yearsuAttended University of NebraskaMedical Center as an MD/PhDstudent.üNext Step is a team of test prep andeducational experts committed to excellence.
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Subjects Tested30% general chemistryChemical and PhysicalFoundations25% physics25% biochemistry15% organic chemistry5% biologyBio and BiochemicalFoundations65% biology25% biochemistry5% organic chemistry5% general chemistry65% psychologyPsychological andSociological Foundations30% sociology5% biology
“High-Yield”Warning: anything on the AAMC MCAT outline is fair game!However, some topics are more likely to appear than others TopicNumber of questionsBiology45Biochem30Physics15Gen Chem20Organic ys:Biology and biochemistry are about 1/3 of the test!You have more psychology questions than physicsand chemistry combined.Organic chemistry is about 5% of your questions.
Perception Perception: interpretation/organization of sensoryinfo Perception sensation Weber’s Law Types of thresholds AbsoluteCan you come up with examplesof Weber’s Law in action? Threshold of conscious perception Difference (just-noticeable difference) Signal detection theory Detecting a stimulus depends on bothsensory and non-sensory factors Can you come up with some examples?Office Hours: Psych/Soc Content Review
Perception Gestalt laws: the whole is different from the partsLaw of SimilarityLaw of ProximityLaw of ClosureLaw of ContinuityOffice Hours: Psych/Soc Content ReviewImage adapted from Fibonacci under CC BY-SA 3.0
Perception1. All Gestalt principles are governed by the “law ofprägnanz.” To what does this refer?2. Which of these examples best demonstrates theGestalt principle of closure?A) The underlying principle that, in organizingperceived objects, we will always seek tomake things as precise, simple, symmetrical,and meaningful as we canB) The law that we tend to recognize bright andcolorful objects before drab or gray onesC) The idea that bottom-up processing ispreferential to top-down processingD) The understanding that perception is aphenomenon unique to every individual andthat different people will always perceiveobjects differentlyA) While in his bedroom, James hears thesound of the garage door closing andassumes that his mother has returned fromwork.B) Thomas closes one of his eyes and noticesthat part of his visual field disappears.C) The NBA symbol does not actually show aperson, but rather an outline made by twoseparate shapes. Our brains then perceivethis as a basketball player.D) Jessica visits France and, although she cannotread the signs on the door, she notices thesymbol of a woman in a skirt and enters thewoman’s bathroom.Office Hours: Psych/Soc Content Review
morySemanticmemoryEpisodicmemoryOffice Hours: Psych/Soc Content ReviewImplicitmemoryProceduralmemory
MemoryAging and memory:Proactive vs. retroactive interferenceWhat declines? Proactive: old info interferes with new Retroactive: new info interferes withrecall of old info Examples?Anterograde vs. retrograde amnesia Anterograde: inability to form new memories Free recall Ability to form newepisodic memories Processing speed Divided attention Retrograde: inability to recall old memoriesWhat can improve?What remains stable? Procedural memory Implicit memory RecognitionOffice Hours: Psych/Soc Content Review Semantic memory Ability to use knowledgeand experience Emotional reasoning
Memory3. Which of the following accurately depict(s) theorder in which a fragment of information mightprogress through various types of memory duringstorage?I. Echoic memory à short-term memory àlong-term memoryII. Iconic memory à short-term memoryIII. Sensory memory à iconic memory à shortterm memory à long-term memoryIV. Working memory à sensory memory àshort-term memoryA) I onlyB) I and II onlyC) I and III onlyD) II, III, and IV only4. To choose the correct answer on a multiple-choiceexam like the MCAT, students use:A) recognition.B) maintenance rehearsal.C) recall.D) procedural memory5. Recalling that lysine is a basic amino acid involveswhich division(s) of long-term memory?I. Semantic memoryII. Declarative memoryIII. Episodic memoryIV. Explicit memoryA) I onlyB) I and IV onlyC) I, II, and IV onlyD) II, III, and IV onlyOffice Hours: Psych/Soc Content Review
Memory6. After damage to his prefrontal cortex, Philip’sworking memory started to show serious deficits.Which of these tasks would Philip have theLEAST trouble completing?A) Playing a “concentration” game in which hemust remember the identities of multipleplaying cards at onceB) Multiplying seven and twelve in his head,then dividing the product by threeC) Closing his eyes and navigating through aroom that he had only been present in for tenminutesD) Reciting the alphabet backwards bysinging them in tune with a previously-learned song7. Jade, a law student, successfully remembers allof the civil tax codes required for her morningexam. She then jumps on her motorcycle andrides home, where she relaxes by playing a videogame in which she wins small tokens. Whichchoice correctly pairs each action with the type ofmemory or process involved?A) Remembering tax codes – semantic; ridingher motorcycle – explicit; playing the videogame – proceduralB) Remembering tax codes – declarative; ridingher motorcycle – procedural; playing thevideo game – operant conditioningC) Remembering tax codes – episodic; ridingher motorcycle – procedural; playing thevideo game – explicitD) Remembering tax codes – semantic; ridingher motorcycle – working; playing the videogame – classical conditioningOffice Hours: Psych/Soc Content Review
Memory8. A young child meets nearly every academicstandard for her age, but cannot seem to learnhow to hold a pencil. Though she practices everymorning, her writing does not improve at all. Thisgirl may be suffering from:A) genetic damage to part of her hippocampus.B) a viral infection that is impairing herdeclarative memory.C) a moderately underdeveloped cerebellum.D) a lesion on her auditory cortex.9. With regard to memory, the two main types ofinterference are:A) proactive and retrograde.B) retroactive and proactive.C) reactive and proactive.D) retrograde and anterograde.10. An elderly man has no trouble rememberinghow to play bridge and drive his car, but cannotremember his new nurse’s name, no matter howmany times she tells him. This man likely suffersfrom:A) anterograde amnesia.B) dissociative fugue.C) a defect in his procedural memory.D) retrograde amnesia.Office Hours: Psych/Soc Content Review
Q&A
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