Mcat Psych Soc High Yield Terms

Practice 30 essential MCAT Psych/Soc definitions

What You'll Learn

Study high-yield MCAT psychology and sociology terms with free flashcards. Review behavior, cognition, social processes, and foundational research concepts.

Key Topics

  • Behavior, learning, and cognition foundations
  • Social interaction and group dynamics terms
  • Research methods and bias concepts
  • Identity, stress, and health-related vocabulary

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How to study this deck

Start with a quick skim of the questions, then launch study mode to flip cards until you can answer each prompt without hesitation. Revisit tricky cards using shuffle or reverse order, and schedule a follow-up review within 48 hours to reinforce retention.

Preview: Mcat Psych Soc High Yield Terms

Question

Process by which behavior changes due to experience

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Learning

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Learning through rewards and punishments

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Operant conditioning

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Learning by associating two stimuli

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Classical conditioning

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A learned response decreases when reinforcement stops

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Extinction

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Memory of facts and events you can consciously recall

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Explicit memory

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Temporary holding system for information in use

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Working memory

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Ability to use and understand language

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Linguistic intelligence

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Belief in one’s ability to succeed in tasks

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Self-efficacy

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Negative arousal response to perceived challenges

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Stress

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Body’s initial reaction to stressor with fight-or-flight activation

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Alarm stage

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Stress-related exhaustion phase when adaptation fails

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Exhaustion stage

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Tendency to attribute others’ actions to personality over situation

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Fundamental attribution error

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Explaining one’s own failures by circumstances

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Self-serving bias

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Changing behavior to fit social expectations

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Conformity

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Stronger performance on simple tasks when others are present

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Social facilitation

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Less individual effort when working in a group

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Social loafing

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Prioritizing group harmony over critical evaluation

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Groupthink

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Sense of self based on group membership

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Social identity

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Collection of beliefs and values shared by a group

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Culture

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Behavior expected from someone in a social position

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Role

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Acting according to expected norms tied to one role

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Role performance

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Conflict between demands of two social roles

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Role conflict

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Separation of people based on social categories

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Social stratification

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Unequal access to resources and opportunities

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Social inequality

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Prejudgment of a group without sufficient evidence

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Prejudice

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Behavior that treats people differently based on group

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Discrimination

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Study design observing outcomes without intervention

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Observational study

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Systematic error that distorts study findings

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Bias

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Ability of a measure to consistently produce similar results

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Reliability

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Extent to which a measure captures what it intends

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Validity