40 MCAT Psych/Soc Terms with Meanings and Examples

classical conditioningpsychology

Learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes linked with one that naturally triggers a response.

“After pairing, the sound of a can opener makes the cat come running.”

operant conditioningpsychology

Learning in which behavior is shaped by its consequences.

“A student studies more after earning praise for good grades.”

variable-ratio schedulepsychology

Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses; produces high, steady responding.

“Slot machines pay out on a variable-ratio schedule.”

habituationpsychology

A decrease in response to a repeated, harmless stimulus.

“After a week, she no longer noticed the ticking clock.”

Weber’s lawpsychology

The just-noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the original stimulus.

“You notice adding 1 kg to 5 kg more than adding 1 kg to 50 kg.”

signal detection theorypsychology

A model of how decisions are made under uncertainty, separating sensitivity from response bias.

“A radiologist’s hits and false alarms are studied with signal detection theory.”

selective attentionpsychology

Focusing on some stimuli while ignoring others.

“Hearing your name across a noisy room shows selective attention at work.”

working memorypsychology

A limited system for holding and manipulating information briefly.

“Mental math relies on working memory.”

encoding specificitypsychology

Recall is better when retrieval cues match the context of learning.

“Studying in a quiet room like the exam hall may help recall.”

serial position effectpsychology

Better recall of items at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a list.

“She remembered the first and last items on the grocery list.”

retroactive interferencepsychology

New learning disrupts recall of older information.

“Learning a new phone number made it harder to recall the old one.”

REM sleeppsychology

Sleep stage with rapid eye movements, vivid dreams and active brain waves.

“Most vivid dreaming occurs in REM sleep.”

circadian rhythmpsychology

The body’s roughly 24-hour cycle of biological processes.

“Jet lag disrupts the circadian rhythm.”

cognitive dissonancepsychology

Discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs or acting against one’s beliefs.

“He felt cognitive dissonance after buying the car he had criticized.”

self-efficacypsychology

Belief in one’s ability to succeed at a task.

“High self-efficacy helped her keep practising.”

locus of controlpsychology

Whether people believe outcomes are controlled by themselves (internal) or outside forces (external).

“With an internal locus of control, he credited his grade to studying.”

Maslow’s hierarchy of needspsychology

A model in which basic needs (physiological, safety) precede belonging, esteem and self-actualization.

“Hungry students struggle to focus on self-actualization.”

Erikson’s psychosocial stagespsychology

Eight life stages, each defined by a conflict such as identity versus role confusion.

“Teenagers face Erikson’s identity versus role confusion stage.”

Piaget’s stagespsychology

Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational stages of cognitive development.

“Object permanence develops in the sensorimotor stage.”

Yerkes–Dodson lawpsychology

Performance rises with arousal up to a point, then falls.

“A little test anxiety can help, but too much hurts performance.”

James–Lange theorypsychology

Emotion results from awareness of physiological arousal.

“On this view, we feel afraid because we notice our racing heart.”

Cannon–Bard theorypsychology

Physiological arousal and emotion occur at the same time, independently.

“The racing heart and fear occur together, not one after the other.”

Schachter–Singer theorypsychology

Emotion depends on arousal plus a cognitive label for it.

“The same arousal may be labelled excitement or fear depending on the situation.”

fundamental attribution errorpsychology

Overemphasizing personality and underemphasizing situation when explaining others’ behavior.

“Assuming a late coworker is lazy, not stuck in traffic, is the fundamental attribution error.”

confirmation biaspsychology

The tendency to seek and favor information that supports existing beliefs.

“She read only the reviews that agreed with her choice.”

availability heuristicpsychology

Judging likelihood by how easily examples come to mind.

“After news of a crash, people overestimate the risk of flying.”

bystander effectsociology

People are less likely to help when others are present.

“No one called for help on the busy platform.”

social facilitationsociology

Performing simple or well-learned tasks better in front of others.

“The sprinter ran her best time in front of a crowd.”

groupthinksociology

A group’s desire for harmony overrides realistic evaluation of options.

“Groupthink led the committee to ignore warning signs.”

deindividuationsociology

Loss of self-awareness and restraint in groups.

“Masked crowds may show deindividuation.”

conformitysociology

Changing behavior or beliefs to match a group.

“In classic line-judgment studies, many people conformed to obviously wrong answers.”

obediencesociology

Following orders from an authority figure.

“Famous experiments showed high obedience to an authority in a lab coat.”

stereotype threatsociology

Anxiety about confirming a negative stereotype that can lower performance.

“Reminding test-takers of a stereotype can trigger stereotype threat.”

social capitalsociology

Resources gained through social networks and relationships.

“A strong alumni network is a form of social capital.”

socioeconomic statussociology

Social standing measured by income, education and occupation.

“Socioeconomic status is linked to health outcomes.”

social stratificationsociology

The ranking of groups in a hierarchy of wealth, power and prestige.

“Caste systems are a rigid form of social stratification.”

symbolic interactionismsociology

A theory that society is built through everyday interactions and shared meanings.

“A handshake’s meaning is studied through symbolic interactionism.”

conflict theorysociology

A theory that society is shaped by competition for limited resources and power.

“Conflict theory examines how wealth shapes access to education.”

functionalismsociology

A theory that society’s parts work together to maintain stability.

“Functionalism views schools as preparing people for work.”

demographic transitionsociology

The shift from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as societies develop.

“Many industrialized countries have completed the demographic transition.”

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