MCAT Psych/Soc (AAMC) Glossary
1. state dependency effect (memory, learning): Memory retrieval is most efficient when an individual is in the same state
of consciousness as they were when the memory was formed.
2. misinformation effect: Retroactive interference. When a person's recall of episodic memories becomes less accurate
because of post-event information.
3. dual coding hypothesis: Easier to remember words associated with images than either one alone.
4. humanistic theory: (Carl Rogers) focuses on the conscious, and says people are inherently good, and we are self-motivated
to improve (so we can reach self-actualization).
5. trait theory: Dispositional theory= A personality trait is a stable predisposition towards a certain behavior. Straightforward
way to describe personality - puts it in patterns of behavior.
6. approach-approach conflict: A conflict between two desired gratifications, as when a youth has to choose between two
attractive and practicable careers
7. avoidance-avoidance conflict: A conflict between two dangers or threats. A man may dislike his job intensely but fear the
threat of unemployment if he quits.
8. cerebellum: Coordinates movement: motor plan
9. ethnographic study: the extended, systematic observation of a complete social environment. (ethno= people, graphy=
writing)
10. Etiology vs. Epidemiology: Etiology is the (usually unknown) set of causes of the disease. Epidemiology is the study of
both the distribution of disease (who has it, where, and when), as well as its causes (etiology).
11. social support vs social network: 1-way vs. reciprocal
12. social reproduction: People with rich parents end up wealthy themselves. 13. Erikson - Psychosocial
development theory: trust vs. mistrust (0-1 yrs) autonomy vs. shame/doubt (1-3 yrs) initiative vs. guilt (3-6 yrs)
competence vs. inferiority (6-12 yrs) identity vs. role confusion (12+, adolescene) intimacy vs. isolation (young adulthood)
generativity vs. stagnation (middle age) integrity vs. despair (later life)
14. Freud's Psychosexual Development: Mnemonic - OLD AGE PARROTS LOVE GRAPES. Old = oral (0-1)
age = anal (1-3)
parrots = phallic (3-6, Oedipus complex, Electra complex) love = latent (6-12) grapes =
genital (12+)
15 Sapir-Whorfian hypothesis: linguistic relativity
16. Schachter-Singer: physiological and cognitive responses simultaneously form emotion.
17. Weber's law: The change in a stimulus that will be just noticeable is a constant ratio of the original stimulus.
18. social support: social network ties (friends, family, and other RELATIONSHIPS), not activities
19. 3 components of memory: sensory, working, long-term.
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, MCAT Psych/Soc (AAMC) Glossary
20. chunking and priming for what?: encoding, retrieval between working and long-term memories.
21. comparative method: comparing the similarities and differences among species to gain an understanding of evolutionary
relationships.
22. reconstructive memory: our memories of an event are often incomplete, as we only recall the important points. (NOT
reproductive memory)
23. eidetic memory: photographic (visual) memory
24. iconic and echoic memory: (what you see, lasts half a second), (what you hear, lasts 3-4 seconds)
25. Easterbrook's hypothesis: increased arousal leads to a narrowing of attention to a small number of relevant cues.
26. Illness anxiety disorder: preoccupation with being ill
27. somatic symptom disorder: Distress/disability from symptoms similar to those that may occur to illness unrelated to
mental disorder, but of psychological origin.
Example is someone that has abdominal pain, caused by stress.
28. REM rebound: the lengthening and increasing frequency and depth of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep which occurs
after periods of sleep deprivation.
29. self-verification: assumes that people work to preserve their self-views by seeking to confirm them.
30. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: MBTI. personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C.
G. Jung understandable and useful in people's lives.
31. Drive Reduction Theory: drives vs. needs. Need is lack or deprivation that will energize the drive, or aroused state. That
drive is what will reduce the need. Maintains homeostasis. Ex. need for water, driven by thirst, doing pushups is means to
fulfill drive for water. Or sleeping.
32. expectancy value theory: behavior is a function of the expectancies one has and the value of the goal toward which one
is working. Such an approach predicts that, when more than one behavior is possible, the behavior chosen will be the one
with the largest combination of expected success and value.
33 role engulfment: In labeling theory, role engulfment refers to how a person's identity becomes based on a role the person
assumes, superseding other roles. A negative role such as "sick" can serve to constrict a person's self-image.
34. motion parallax: a monocular depth cue in which we view objects that are closer to us as moving faster than objects that
are further away from us.
35. dissociative disorders: conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity, or
perception. multiple identities
36. conversion disorder: a mental condition in which a person has blindness, paralysis, or other nervous system (neurologic)
symptoms that cannot be explained by medical evaluation.
37. marginal poverty.: A state of poverty that occurs when a person lacks a stable employment.
38. schema: (mental blueprint containing common aspects of world), instead of reality.
2/5
1. state dependency effect (memory, learning): Memory retrieval is most efficient when an individual is in the same state
of consciousness as they were when the memory was formed.
2. misinformation effect: Retroactive interference. When a person's recall of episodic memories becomes less accurate
because of post-event information.
3. dual coding hypothesis: Easier to remember words associated with images than either one alone.
4. humanistic theory: (Carl Rogers) focuses on the conscious, and says people are inherently good, and we are self-motivated
to improve (so we can reach self-actualization).
5. trait theory: Dispositional theory= A personality trait is a stable predisposition towards a certain behavior. Straightforward
way to describe personality - puts it in patterns of behavior.
6. approach-approach conflict: A conflict between two desired gratifications, as when a youth has to choose between two
attractive and practicable careers
7. avoidance-avoidance conflict: A conflict between two dangers or threats. A man may dislike his job intensely but fear the
threat of unemployment if he quits.
8. cerebellum: Coordinates movement: motor plan
9. ethnographic study: the extended, systematic observation of a complete social environment. (ethno= people, graphy=
writing)
10. Etiology vs. Epidemiology: Etiology is the (usually unknown) set of causes of the disease. Epidemiology is the study of
both the distribution of disease (who has it, where, and when), as well as its causes (etiology).
11. social support vs social network: 1-way vs. reciprocal
12. social reproduction: People with rich parents end up wealthy themselves. 13. Erikson - Psychosocial
development theory: trust vs. mistrust (0-1 yrs) autonomy vs. shame/doubt (1-3 yrs) initiative vs. guilt (3-6 yrs)
competence vs. inferiority (6-12 yrs) identity vs. role confusion (12+, adolescene) intimacy vs. isolation (young adulthood)
generativity vs. stagnation (middle age) integrity vs. despair (later life)
14. Freud's Psychosexual Development: Mnemonic - OLD AGE PARROTS LOVE GRAPES. Old = oral (0-1)
age = anal (1-3)
parrots = phallic (3-6, Oedipus complex, Electra complex) love = latent (6-12) grapes =
genital (12+)
15 Sapir-Whorfian hypothesis: linguistic relativity
16. Schachter-Singer: physiological and cognitive responses simultaneously form emotion.
17. Weber's law: The change in a stimulus that will be just noticeable is a constant ratio of the original stimulus.
18. social support: social network ties (friends, family, and other RELATIONSHIPS), not activities
19. 3 components of memory: sensory, working, long-term.
1/5
, MCAT Psych/Soc (AAMC) Glossary
20. chunking and priming for what?: encoding, retrieval between working and long-term memories.
21. comparative method: comparing the similarities and differences among species to gain an understanding of evolutionary
relationships.
22. reconstructive memory: our memories of an event are often incomplete, as we only recall the important points. (NOT
reproductive memory)
23. eidetic memory: photographic (visual) memory
24. iconic and echoic memory: (what you see, lasts half a second), (what you hear, lasts 3-4 seconds)
25. Easterbrook's hypothesis: increased arousal leads to a narrowing of attention to a small number of relevant cues.
26. Illness anxiety disorder: preoccupation with being ill
27. somatic symptom disorder: Distress/disability from symptoms similar to those that may occur to illness unrelated to
mental disorder, but of psychological origin.
Example is someone that has abdominal pain, caused by stress.
28. REM rebound: the lengthening and increasing frequency and depth of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep which occurs
after periods of sleep deprivation.
29. self-verification: assumes that people work to preserve their self-views by seeking to confirm them.
30. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: MBTI. personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C.
G. Jung understandable and useful in people's lives.
31. Drive Reduction Theory: drives vs. needs. Need is lack or deprivation that will energize the drive, or aroused state. That
drive is what will reduce the need. Maintains homeostasis. Ex. need for water, driven by thirst, doing pushups is means to
fulfill drive for water. Or sleeping.
32. expectancy value theory: behavior is a function of the expectancies one has and the value of the goal toward which one
is working. Such an approach predicts that, when more than one behavior is possible, the behavior chosen will be the one
with the largest combination of expected success and value.
33 role engulfment: In labeling theory, role engulfment refers to how a person's identity becomes based on a role the person
assumes, superseding other roles. A negative role such as "sick" can serve to constrict a person's self-image.
34. motion parallax: a monocular depth cue in which we view objects that are closer to us as moving faster than objects that
are further away from us.
35. dissociative disorders: conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity, or
perception. multiple identities
36. conversion disorder: a mental condition in which a person has blindness, paralysis, or other nervous system (neurologic)
symptoms that cannot be explained by medical evaluation.
37. marginal poverty.: A state of poverty that occurs when a person lacks a stable employment.
38. schema: (mental blueprint containing common aspects of world), instead of reality.
2/5
