Study guide
Follows AAMC Foundational Concepts 6-10. Educational content only. Tested via research-based passages requiring you to recognize a named theory or mechanism from its described experimental pattern.
Sensation and Perception
Covers absolute/difference thresholds, Weber's law, signal detection theory (sensitivity vs. criterion), and sensory adaptation vs. habituation.
Learning and Memory
Covers classical conditioning terms, operant conditioning (reinforcement/punishment, schedules), observational learning (acquisition vs. performance), and memory types plus interference.
Biological Bases of Behavior
Covers neuron signaling/action potentials, key neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, GABA), autonomic nervous system branches, and REM sleep.
Social Psychology: Attribution, Cognition, and Influence
Covers fundamental attribution error/actor-observer bias, cognitive dissonance and insufficient justification, normative vs. informational social influence, social facilitation, and groupthink.
Social Structure and Sociological Concepts
Covers social stratification (class/status/power), SES correlations, stereotype/prejudice/discrimination distinctions, looking-glass self, and incidence vs. prevalence.
Key terms
- Weber's law
- — Just noticeable difference is a constant proportion of stimulus intensity.
- Signal detection theory
- — Separates sensitivity from response criterion/bias.
- Observational learning (social learning theory)
- — Learning by watching a model; distinguishes acquisition from performance.
- Retroactive interference
- — New learning disrupts recall of previously learned information.
- Dopamine hypothesis (schizophrenia)
- — Excess dopaminergic activity linked to psychotic symptoms.
- Fundamental attribution error
- — Overweighting dispositional causes for others' behavior.
- Cognitive dissonance
- — Discomfort from conflicting beliefs/behavior, resolved via attitude change (insufficient justification).
- Normative social influence
- — Conformity for social approval, distinct from informational influence.
- Looking-glass self
- — Cooley's concept that self-concept forms partly via imagining others' judgments.
- Incidence vs. prevalence
- — New cases over time vs. total affected proportion at one point in time.
Exam tips
- Identify criterion shifts vs. sensitivity changes in signal detection scenarios.
- Keep conditioning terms straight by function (unconditioned vs. conditioned).
- Distinguish acquisition from performance in observational learning passages.
- Trace nervous system sequence in order to locate where a disruption acts.
- Recognize the insufficient-justification pattern (small reward, more attitude change).
- Never assume causation from a reported SES-outcome correlation unless the passage supports it.