Psychology MCAT_Customized Part 1

Taste:

Chemoreceptors on the tongue bind dissolved chemicals or ions, such as salt. TastePathways: 1) Taste Buds 2) Brain Stem 3) Taste Center in the thalamus.

Discrimination

Discrimination is the behavior or actions, usually negative, towards an individual or group of people, especially on the basis of sex/race/social class, etc. Example: World War II - In Germany and German-controlled lands, Jewish people had to wear yellow stars to identify themselves as Jews. Later, the Jews were placed in concentration camps by the Nazis.

Reinforcement

Encourages behavior, strengthens it, or increases its frequency.

Two reactions to negative reinforcement

Escape learning = subject adopts a behavior to reduce or end an unpleasant stimulus. Avoidance learning = subject adopts a behavior to avoid an unpleasant stimulus in the future.

Rods

Highly sensitive, perceive black and white only, poor resolution of detail, contain only one pigment (rhodopsin). NOTE: Relative number of rods = 20X

Primacy Effect

Improved recall of words at the beginning of the list.

Heightened Emotional States

Memories coded during heightened emotional states are usually remembered more easily.

Opiates

Opiates are endorphin antagonists (it inhibits the functioning of endorphins). Examples of an opiate agonist is morphine and heroin.

Nociceptors

Pain receptors

Serial-Position Effect

Presentation order, or positioning in a list, impacts recall. The primary effect predicts that the first few concepts presented will be remembered at a higher rate. It refers to improved memory for words at the beginning and at the end of a list. The recency effect predicts that the last few concepts presented will be remembered at a higher rate.

When you see MEMORY think:

STORAGE and RETRIEVAL of information.

Sensory receptors

Seven Senses - vision -hearing -somatosensation (touch+) -taste -smell -kinesthetic sense -vestibular sense

Iconic Memory:

Short term visual sensory memory

Other Senses:

Smell (a.k.a., olfaction) OLFACTORY CELLS: Called chemoreceptors because they are triggered by membrane receptors that directly bind specific gaseous/vaporized airborne chemicals. PHEROMONES: Specialized odors released by one individual that elicit behavior in another individual upon olfaction. More well-established/common in animals than humans. Olfactory Pathways: Transmission pathway of an olfactory impulse, in order, from the olfactory epithelium to higher-order brain centers. 1) Olfactory Sensory Neurons: Located in the olfactory epithelium of the upper nasal cavity. 2) Olfactory Nerve (Cranial Nerve I) 3) Olfactory Bulb (forebrain) 4) Higher-Order Brain Centers (Various: Amygdala, hippocampus, orbitofrontal cortex, etc.)

4) Which concept is LEAST similar to the Gestalt "Principle of Past Experience?" A) schemas B) the spacing effect C) familiarity effect D) priming effect

Solution: Answer A is false because we are looking for the LEAST similar concept to the principle of past experience and schemas are very similar. For example, past experience with letters makes us favor perceptions that look like letters. That very act is using a "letter-schema" to process the visual information. Answers C and D are both false because they both suggest that previous experience (familiarity, or presentation of a similar stimulus) influences perception. Answer B is the correct answer, and is LEAST similar to the Principle of Past Experience. This principle suggests that we are more likely to favor a perception that looks like something with which we've had past experience (such as the alphabet). The spacing effect is not a direct example of past experience influencing current perceptions; instead, it emphasizes the surprising fact that reviewing a memory at slightly longer intervals actually increases retention compared to shorter intervals.

Misinformation effect

Studies have proven that the presentation of inaccurate post-event information can cause an accurate memory to be altered or recalled inaccurately.

Symmetry

Symmetry states that the viewer should not be given the impression that something is out of balance, or missing, or wrong. If an object is asymmetrical, the viewer will waste time trying to find the problem instead of concentrating on the instruction.

True-False Effect

True statements are verified more quickly than false statements are negated.

Learning is.......

a relatively stable change in BEHAVIOR based on experience.

Wernicke's Area

area involved mostly in speech processing.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Somatosensation

"Touch" is often presented as one of "The Five Senses." There are actually far more than five types of human sensation involving sensory receptors. We list seven here, and some include subsets with different types of receptors. You should remember that somatosensation is a broad category that includes sensation of physical forces/influences of many kinds, plus heat exchange. Somatosensation = Touch, texture, pressure, vibration, pain, stretching, and temperature.

Three Types of Encoding

1) Visual= Encoding of an image or visualization. 2) Acoustic = Encoding of a sound. 3) Semantic = Encoding of a meaning, understanding, or a concept's interrelation with other stored information (ex. context). Semantic encoding always results in the strongest, most enduring memories. Semantic memories are also recalled more easily and more rapidly.

Types of Memory

1). Sensory 2). Working 3). Short-term 4). Long-term *Explicit Memory *Implicit Memory 5). Procedural 6). Episodic 7). Semantic

peg-word system

A Peg system is a technique for memorizing lists. It works by pre-memorizing a list of words that are easy to associate with the numbers they represent (1 to 10, 1-100, 1-1000, etc.). Those objects form the "pegs" of the system. Then in the future, to rapidly memorize a list of arbitrary objects, each one is associated with the appropriate peg. Generally, a peglist only has to be memorized one time, and can then be used over and over every time a list of items needs to be memorized. The peglists are generated from words that are easy to associate with the numbers (or letters). Peg lists created from letters of the alphabet or from rhymes are very simple to learn, but are limited in the number of pegs they can produce. The Major System is often used to create pegs. While it is more complicated to learn than simple rhymes or alphabetic pegs, it is limitless in the number of pegs it can produce. Furthermore, a recent modification to the Major System introduces the concept of dimensions, which increases the size of the list by a factor of ten with the addition of each new dimension.

Korsakoff's syndrome

A brain disorder resulting from severe thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency, most often resulting from chronic alcohol abuse. Alcohol inhibits the conversion of thiamine to its active form, thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP). Wernicke's Encephalopathy is a mild version of the condition that precedes Korsakoff's and is usually fully treatable by intravenous vitamin injections and cessation of alcohol use. You may see it called "Wernickes-Korsakoff Syndrome" for this reason.

Psychophysics

A branch of psychology interested in using precise, quantitative measurement of physical stimuli to understand the relationships between external stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they elicit.

Chemoreceptor

A chemoreceptor, also known as chemosensor, is a sensory receptor that transduces a chemical signal into an action potential. In more general terms, a chemosensor detects certain chemical stimuli in the environment.

Fixed interval

A fixed interval schedule of reinforcement occurs when a person is rewarded for the first time a behavior occurs in a nth interval of time. In operant conditioning, a fixed-interval schedule is a schedule of reinforcement where the first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed. This schedule causes high amounts of responding near the end of the interval, but much slower responding immediately after the delivery of the reinforcer. Examples In a Lab Setting: Imagine that you are training a rat to press a lever, but you only reinforce the first response after a ten-minute interval. The rat does not press the bar much during the first 5 minutes after reinforcement, but begins to press the lever more and more often the closer you get to the ten minute mark. In the Real World: A weekly paycheck is a good example of a fixed-interval schedule. The employee receives reinforcement every seven days, which may result in a higher response rate as payday approaches.

Fixed Ratio

A fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement occurs when a person is rewarded every nth time a behavior is performed. In operant conditioning, a fixed-ratio schedule is a schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced only after a specified number of responses. This schedule produces a high, steady rate of responding with only a brief pause after the delivery of the reinforcer. Examples Production Line Work: Workers at a widget factory are paid for every 15 widgets they make. This results in a high production rate and workers tend to take few breaks. It can, however, lead to burnout and lower-quality work Collecting Tokens in a Video Game: In many video games, you have to collection so many tokens, object, or points in order to receive some type of reward.

Neural Plasticity

A general term referring to the ability of the brain and its neurons to physically change in response to various stimuli and for various reasons. Synapses, dendrites, and glial cells all change. Plasticity is closely associated with three events/processes: 1) Development: Compared to adult brains, infant brains contain: Approximately the same number of neurons More synapses Fewer glial cells (e.g., support cells such as Oligodendrocytes) Synaptic Pruning = The number of synapses is decreased through selective destruction of some synapses and strengthening of others. The weakest, least- frequently-used synapses are pruned, while the strongest, most-frequently- used synapses are strengthened. 2) Memory Storage (Learning): It is theorized that short-term memory may result from temporary chemical or electrical traces that fade quickly. Long-Term Memory traces, however, are always the result of physical changes to the neuron itself. A neuron can grow additional dendrites to strengthen a neuronal connection, and can alter the synaptic membrane to either increase or decrease the strength of an individual synapse. Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) = The persistent strengthening of a synapse based on increased activity at that synapse; the exact mechanism is still unknown (and even varies by brain location), however, it has been shown in at least some cases to include an increase in pre-synaptic neurotransmitter bundles, and/or an increase in post-synaptic ion channel receptors. An increase in gene expression (transcription and translation of the gene product protein) has been positively correlated with LTP. Long-Term Depression (LDP) = The persistent weakening of a synapse based on decreased activity. The theoretical opposite of LTP. 3) CNS Injury: After traumatic brain injury, portions of the brain have been shown to reassign function to another brain region. In severe seizure cases one full hemisphere is removed to prevent seizures. If done at a young enough age, the remaining hemisphere will take over all function from the missing hemisphere and the patient can lead a neurologically normal life.

Mechanoreceptors

A mechanoreceptor is a sensory receptor that responds to mechanical pressure or distortion. Normally there are four main types in glabrous skin: Pacinian corpuscles, Meissner's corpuscles, Merkel's discs, and Ruffini endings. There are also mechanoreceptors in hairy skin, and the hair cells in the cochlea are the most sensitive mechanoreceptors, transducing air pressure waves into nerve signals sent to the brain.

Alzheimer's Disease

A neurodegenerative disease characterized by memory loss, impaired cognition, and language deterioration. Onset is usually but not always at age 65 or greater. Late-stage symptoms are more severe and include loss of judgment, confusion, and drastic mood and personality changes. PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES: (a.k.a., biological "markers") In between CNS neurons (OUTSIDE THE CELL), B-amyloids, portions of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) normally snipped-off and recycled in healthy individuals, aggregate into B-amyloid plaques. INSIDE THE CELL, the Tau protein, a structural protein associated with microtubules, undergoes hyperphosphorylation, which causes the modified Tau proteins to aggregate into insoluble neurofibrillary tangles. The size of the brain itself, especially the temporofrontal and frontal cortex, decrease significantly. The size of the ventricles increases and the size of the hippocampus decreases.

Q5. Provide a conceptual definition of the following terms as they relate to Classic Conditioning: neutral stimulus, conditioned stimulus, unconditioned stimulus, conditioned response, unconditioned response, acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recover, generalization, and discrimination.

A neutral stimulus is a stimulus that does not elicit a response in the absence of learning. The classic example of a neutral stimulus is the tone or bell that was used in Pavlov's study with dogs. If a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with some stimulus that naturally elicits a response (aka the unconditioned stimulus) then the neutral stimulus can become a conditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response. The classic example of an unconditioned stimulus would be the food that Pavlov presented to his dogs because food elicits salivation without any prior learning. The salivation here is referred to as the unconditioned response, but salivation that is elicited by the tone which has been repeatedly paired with the food comes to be known as the conditioned response because it is being elicited by the conditioned stimulus. As associations between the neutral and unconditioned stimuli become learned such that the formerly neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus, then we say that the association between the stimuli has been acquired. Once an association has been acquired, it can be extinguished by repeatedly presenting the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus. Over time, the animal will stop exhibiting the conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus, and we say that extinction has occurred. However, the animal is not simply forgetting the original association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli and will occasionally show a conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus even though the conditioned stimulus has been extinguished. This phenomenon is referred to as spontaneous recovery. In some instances, individuals will generalize (generalization) a conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to, but not identical to the conditioned stimulus itself (e.g. think Little Albert and the white rat). In other contexts, individuals will learn to respond to only the conditioned stimulus itself while ignoring other very similar stimuli, which is referred to as discrimination.

Interference Effect

A new memory that is very similar to an existing one can cause interference, or increased difficulty recalling the original memory. An example would be difficulty memorizing a second phone number because of a previous one. Also, an increasing number of irrelevant connections in a semantic network decreases recall rate.

When you see LEARNING think:

A relatively long-lasting CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR.

Variable Interval

A variable interval schedule of reinforcement occurs when a person is rewarded for the first time a behavior occurs in an average nth interval of time. In operant conditioning, a variable-interval schedule is a schedule of reinforcement where a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed. This schedule produces a slow, steady rate of response. Examples: Checking Your Email: Typically, you check your email at random times throughout the day instead of checking every time a single message is delivered. Your Employer Checking Your Work: Does your boss drop by your office a few times throughout the day to check your progress? This is an example of a variable-interval schedule. These check-ins occur at unpredictable times, so you never know when they might happen.

Variable Ratio

A variable ratio schedule occurs when a person is rewarded sporadically for a particular behavior. In operant conditioning, a variable-ratio schedule is a schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses. This schedule creates a high steady rate of responding. Gambling and lottery games are good examples of a reward based on a variable ratio schedule Examples: Slot machines: Players have no way of knowing how many times they have to play before they will win. All they know is that eventually a play will win. This is why slot machines are so effective and players are often reluctant to quit. There is always the possibility that the next coin they put in will be the winning one. Sales bonuses: Call centers often offer random bonuses to employees. Workers never know how many calls they need to make in order to receive the bonus, but they know that they increase their chances the more calls or sales they make.

Q29. Classify the nerves involved in each response as efferent/afferent/interneuron, as somatic/autonomic, and as peripheral nervous system (PNS), CNS, or both: a) your olfactory nerve cells receive a stimulus and transmit an action potential toward your brain, b) you perceive the smell and consciously select a behavior in response, c) an action potential is carried to a skeletal motor unit causing you to move away from the unpleasant odor, d) a nociceptor in your finger is triggered when you touch a hot stove and a signal is sent toward your spinal cord, e) unconsciously, your nervous system sends an immediate action potential to a motor neuron causing you to remove your finger from the hot stove, f) a car is rapidly approaching you in your lane and a crash is imminent; rods and cones in your retina send signals along the optic nerve, g) your brain immediately sends action potentials toward various organs of your body, resulting in dilated pupils and increased heart rate.

A) The olfactory nerve is an afferent pathway of the somatic division of the PNS. B) Perception and decision making would occur in a variety of interneurons in the central nervous system. C) Motor neurons efferent nerve fibers of the somatic division of the PNS. D) Nocioceptors are afferent fibers in the somatic division of the peripheral nervous system. The pain signal would be sent to an interneuron of the spinal cord (CNS). E) The interneuron would synapse on an efferent motor neuron in the somatic division of the PNS. F) The optic nerve is an afferent pathway of the CNS. G) Pupil dilation and increased heart rate would result from information travelling in efferent fibers of the CNS to the autonomic division of the PNS.

Amnesia

Amnesia is the loss of memory as a result of brain damage, injury or psychological trauma. This differentiates it from "forgetting," which is the result of the normal loss of recall as a result of a fading memory trace. Additional repetition or improved encoding can prevent forgetting, but not amnesia.

Q4. Provide a conceptual definition for the following terms related to age-related memory loss: a) amnesia, b) anterograde amnesia, c) retrograde amnesia, d) dementia, and e) prospective memory.

Amnesia is the loss of memory as a result of brain damage, injury or psychological trauma. This differentiates it from "forgetting," which is the result of the normal loss of recall as a result of a fading memory trace. Additional repetition or improved encoding can prevent forgetting, but not amnesia. Anterograde amnesia is the inability to create new memories, occurring after an event that has caused amnesia. Long-term memories from before the event remain intact. For example, if a person was in a car accident and seemed to be functioning normally beforehand, but afterword seemed to have little to no short-term memory, while still being able to remember events that occurred before the accident, this would be an example of anterograde amnesia. In retrograde amnesia, memories created prior to the event cannot be remembered, but new memories can still be created Dementia is a gradual, long-term decline in one's general mental function or capability that is severe enough to interfere with one's daily life. It can include loss of memory, but also other mental functions associated with gradual decline or disease-based damage of the central nervous system. Prospective memory is the ability to remember to do something at some future time. For example, a patient remembering to take their medication, or a student remembering to return a library book, are both examples of prospective memory.

Dishabituation

An increased response to a stimulus after habituation has already occurred. The old stimulus is suddenly reacted to as if it were new. Dishabituation usually occurs after a long period of stimulation, when habituation is becoming significant, and a second stimulus is then introduced. This is though to disrupt the process of habituation.

Sensitization

An increased response to a stimulus after the stimulus has been presented multiple times. Sensitization ( NOT dishabituation) is the conceptual opposite of habituation. Generally, the term sensitization is NOT used to refer to associative learning. It is more frequently applied to the increasing strength of the response in a biological positive feedback system.

Anterograde Amnesia

Anterograde amnesia is the inability to create new memories, occurring after an event that has caused amnesia. Long-term memories from before the event remain intact. For example, if a person was in a car accident and seemed to be functioning normally beforehand, but afterword seemed to have little to no short-term memory, while still being able to remember events that occurred before the accident, this would be an example of anterograde amnesia. Example: movie "50 fist dates".

State- dependent learning

As previously discussed in this chapter, similarity between the states in which a memory is encoded and retrieved enhances recall. This effect includes the mood or emotions present during encoding.

Q2. Compare and contrast the following kinds of memory: sensory, working, short-term, long-term, procedural, episodic, and semantic. Include basic characteristics of each memory type and its approximate duration absent repetition.

As shown in the above figure, all of the memory systems are interconnected and inter-related. Information is first processed by sensory memory. Sometimes referred to as echoic or iconic memory depending on the sensory modality involved, SENSORY memory or ECHOIC memory is very SHORT-LIVED. Unless information in sensory memory is focused on and transferred to short-term, or working memory, then it will be lost in a matter of seconds. When information is in working memory, it is being actively engaged with. As mentioned earlier, the capacity of working memory is limited (7 + or- 2) units of information) and its duration is limited to about 10-15 seconds without rehearsal. Information that is encoded correctly can be stored in long-term memory. Both the duration and capacity of long-term memory are essentially limitless (although successfully retrieving information from long-term memory can be problematic). As indicated in the figure above, information from long-term memory is transferred to working memory while it is being actively used.

Automatic vs. Controlled Processing

Automatic processing requires no attention or conscious effort (ex. walking while talking on your cell phone). Controlled processing requires active attention and effort (ex. solving a math problem, studying for the MCAT). Controlled processing, repeated over a long time, can become automatic processing (ex. learning the alphabet was originally a controlled process, but now you can effortlessly recall the alphabet).

Vestibular Sense

Balance and orientation, by responding to changes in linear and rotational acceleration detected by hair cells in the vestibule and the semicircular canals.

Baroreceptors

Baroreceptors (or archaically, pressoreceptors or baroceptors) are sensors located in the blood vessels of all vertebrate animals. They sense the blood pressure and relay the information to the brain, so that a proper blood pressure can be maintained.

Kinesthetic Sense

Body position and the movement of body prats relative to one another.

Bottom-up vs. Top-down Processing Q27. Differentiate between bottom-up and top-down processing. Provide one real-life example of each approach to processing information. Later in psychology, we will discuss schemas— organized, preconceived frameworks for viewing the world based on past experience. We use these frameworks to quickly process new information with less effort, assuming similarities to our existing schemas and dismissing contrary information as exceptions. The concept of schemas is most closely related to which type of processing?

Bottom-up processing involves taking individual elements and putting them together to make a whole while top-down processing involves cognitive factors influencing the way in which components are processed. Issues related to sensation and perception provide excellent examples of the differences between these two types of processing, and in fact, the following image allows us to discuss both.

Systematic Judgments

CONSCIOUS determination of the source based on intentional logical evaluation of the details remembered.

Central Executive

Central Executive: Drives the whole system (e.g. the boss of working memory) and allocates data to the subsystems (VSS & PL). It also deals with cognitive tasks such as mental arithmetic and problem solving. Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad (inner eye): Stores and processes information in a visual or spatial form. The VSS is used for navigation. The phonological loop is the part of working memory that deals with spoken and written material. It can be used to remember a phone number.

chunking

Chunking is simply a way of breaking down larger pieces of information into smaller, organized "chunks" of more easily-managed information. Telephone numbers in the United States are a perfect example of this — 10 digits broken into 3 chunks, allowing almost everyone to remember an entire phone number with ease. Since short-term human memory is limited to approximately 7 items of information, placing larger quantities of information into smaller containers helps our brains remember more, and more easily. Organizing information into either objective or subjective categories also helps. Objective organization is placing information into well-recognized, logical categories. Trees and grass are plants; a cricket is an insect. Subjective organization is categorizing seemingly unrelated items in a way that helps you recall the items later. This can also be useful because it breaks down the amount of information to learn. If you can divide a list of items into a fewer number of categories, then all you have to remember is the categories (fewer items), which will serve as memory cues in the future.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Classical and Operant conditioning

Classical and Operant conditioning are among the most important topics for MCAT-2015. Understanding them conceptually, being able to visualize examples, draw or recognize related graphs, and feeling confident enough to teach them to others will be absolutely necessary. These topics will appear on almost every exam form. Because of their value, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of the Expensive Memory Principle by exploring each topic in detail BEFORE you look up the answers to the italicized questions!

Closure

Closure suggests that we are likely to see incomplete figures as whole shapes.Closure occurs when an object is incomplete or a space is not completely enclosed. If enough of the shape is indicated, people percieve the whole by filling in the missing information. ex.panda picture.

Somatosensation

Colloquially called "touch" = includes touch, texture, pain, pressure, stretching, temperature, and vibration.

Ways One Can Learn to Associate Two Events Rule-Based Processing (cognitive processes and associative learning):

Conscious and intentional. Driven by BOTH the event (stimulus) experienced, AND by language, cognition, or formal reasoning. Rules-Based Processing LIMITS the applicability of associative learning! Pavlov, Watson, and original behaviorists expected that classical conditioning would translate well to any behavior and between species. Later research demonstrated that other cognitions such as language and reasoning are also at work. Humans, in particular, will learn to "expect" or "anticipate" an unconditioned stimulus. Subjects will also perceive and apply external reasoning schemas in order to alter, manipulate, or avoid the conditioning process.

Continuation

Continuation occurs when the eye is compelled to move through one object and continue to another object.

How to correctly study by relying on Elaborative rehearsal

Create conceptual notecards. Anki Only works as a conceptual learning tool if YOU are faithful in creating concept-based Anki notecards. Prompt yourself to draw schematics,visualizations, or graphs. Ask yourself for realistic examples illustrating each concept. Write notecards that require you to conceptualize, analyze, synthesize, or make connections between topics. Review your notecards via elaborative rehearsal. Elaborative rehearsal involves reviewing the meaning, purpose, and context of a concept, along with its interconnection with other concepts. Elaborative rehearsal is easily facilitated if you explore the four conceptual questions as a part of BOTH encoding and rehearsal. When reviewing a notecard, ask yourself: "What else have I learned since my last repetition? Have I found any new relationships or connections to other concepts? Have I been exposed to new ways to graph or visualize this concept? Who can I teach this to?" Interference: As discussed previously, new memories (especially emotional ones) can interfere with the recall of existing memories (especially if the existing memory and the new memory are very similar to one another).

Punishment

DISCOURAGES behavior. Punishments weaken the behavioral response, decrease its frequency, or stop it altogether. Do NOT think of punishment in terms of "good" or "bad", or "pleasant or unpleasant", or you will get confused. Focus on what punishments do: they discourage the behavior.

Stereotyping

Definition: A stereotype is "...a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people." Refers to cognitions regarding social groups, not behaviors toward social group but beliefs and attitudes. For example, a "hells angel" biker dresses in leather.

Dementia

Dementia is a gradual, long-term decline in one's general mental function or capability that is severe enough to interfere with one's daily life. It can include loss of memory, but also other mental functions associated with gradual decline or disease-based damage of the central nervous system.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Elaborative rehearsal

Elaborative rehearsal still requires rehearsal. Semantically-encoded memories still require regular rehearsal at spaced intervals to prevent decay. Also, some students have the misconception that if they learn something semantically the first time, they can use rote maintenance rehearsals during review. To the contrary, BOTH initial encoding and spaced repetitions should always be via elaborative rehearsal. When reviewing previous lessons and notecards, you should be thinking, understanding, and connecting for the second time, third time, and so forth. You should be answering the Four Conceptual Questions in detail every time you review a topic. Don't forget to reteach the principle to someone. No rehearsal is more powerful than a teaching rehearsal!

Memory Decay

Even the strongest, most conceptual, semantically- encoded long-term memories are constantly decaying. As the strength of the LTM trace increases (ex. it is more semantic and involves more neuronal interlacing due to more interconnections with related concepts) the rate of decay decreases.

Biological predispositions

Every subject, animal or human, has biological instincts that predispose them toward adaptive responses, decreasing the likelihood that conditioned responses contrary to those predispositions will endure. This is another LIMIT on the applicability of associative learning.

Q6. For the two examples that follow, identify the specific component of the example that illustrates each of following (if they apply): a) neutral, conditioned, or unconditioned stimulus, b) conditioned or unconditioned response, c) acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, or discrimination. Example 1) A physically abused child reflexively raises his hand to cover his face when his father is about to strike him. His father smokes heavily and the child knows his father is nearby when he smells cigarette smoke. At first, the child does not like the smell of cigarette smoke, but mostly ignores it. After some time, however, the child begins to flinch at the mere smell of cigarette smoke. The child moves away from home and lives with roommates who also smoke. Eventually he loses his fear of cigarette smoke. Many years later, the child revisits his childhood home, long after his father has passed away. Upon entering the house he smells the strong odor of stale cigarette smoke. To his surprise, it makes him cringe. Example 2) An elderly man's wife begins a new habit of baking bread weekly. The man loves his wife's homemade bread and the smell of it cooking makes him salivate. His wife uses a wind-up oven timer to tell her when the bread is ready to remove from the oven. A few weeks later, his wife is using the same timer to keep track of her exercise on the treadmill. At the end of her exercise routine the man often tells his wife that he is hungry and asks for some homemade bread. A short-time later, the man realizes that the sound of his alarm clock also makes him salivate and crave homemade bread. However, because his wife never makes homemade bread in the mornings, this reaction eventually fades, until once again he only salivates to the sound of the oven timer.

Example 1: The abuse received from the father serves as an unconditioned stimulus which cause flinching behavior (unconditioned response). The smell of smoke is at first a neutral stimulus, but after repeated pairings with the abuse, the child acquires an association between the smell of smoke and the abuse. At this point, the smell becomes a conditioned stimulus which elicits the conditioned response of flinching. Once the child moves in with roommates who smoke, the fear response to smoke is extinguished because the smoke is no longer paired with the abusive father. However, the fear response spontaneously recovers when the individual revisits his childhood home. Example 2: The smell of homemade bread serves as the unconditioned stimulus which elicits salivation/hunger (unconditioned response). The timer is a neutral stimulus that is repeatedly paired with the smell of the bread, and eventually, it takes on the role of a conditioned stimulus which elicits the conditioned response of salivation/hunger. Eventually, the man's conditioned response generalizes to like stimuli (i.e. the alarm clock), but over time, the man shows discrimination in his response only to the oven timer.

Cofabulation

Fabrication of false, but usually vivid and detailed memories to fill in the gaps in a coherent story or memory. Often observed in Alzheimer's or Korsakoff's patients.

10 most frequently cited GPS

Familiarize yourself with two to three examples of each principle. 1. Closure 2. Continuation 3.Common Fate 4. Proximity 5. Similarity 6. Continuity 7. Good Gestalt 8. Symmetry 9. Past experience 10 Convexity

Folkways

Folkways are often referred to as "customs." They are standards of behavior that are socially approved but not morally significant. They are norms for everyday behavior that people follow for the sake of tradition or convenience. Breaking a folkway does not usually have serious consequences. Cultural forms of dress or food habits are examples of folkways. In America, if someone belched loudly while eating at the dinner table with other people, he or she would be breaking a folkway. It is culturally appropriate to not belch at the dinner table, however if this folkway is broken, there are no moral or legal consequences.

Q3. Based on Ebbinghaus's Curve of Forgetting, rank the following time intervals, measured from the first day a memory was encoded, in order of increasing percentage of memory loss: a) day 1-2, b) days 3-5, c) days 12-20, d) days 2-10.

From lowest to highest: 12-20, 3-5, 2-10, and 1-2. The point here is that the closer to the point at which rehearsal ends, the more information is lost more quickly. After the first few days, there is a very gradual decay in the information that is retained.

Gestalt Principles

GESTALT PRINCIPLES: There are many Gestalt Principles (GPS, GP), which you will find labeled as "This Principle," or "That Principle." Often the name itself reveals the meaning (e.g., The Symmetry Principle, The Continuation Principle). The pre-released MCAT-2015 materials from the AAMC demonstrate that the test authors expect you to be able to recall GPS by name. Unfortunately, there isn't precise agreement on a complete list of GPS, and there are nearly 100 of them mentioned in one form or another. First, make sure you know the general concepts of organization and completion implied by all GPS (the "Take Home Message" below). Second, study the 10 most-frequently-cited GPS listed below. Third, practice. The most likely way you will be tested is for an MCAT-2015 question to require you to recognize and/or identify a scenario or picture as an example of a particular GP. Practice identifying examples is therefore important. Almost exclusively, you will see GPS applied to how we process visual stimuli—more precisely, how we tend to organize things that are not inherently organized, or assume information not given, in order to create a more complete perception. TAKE HOME MESSAGE: All Gestalt Principles explain some way in which our minds automatically: Group individual parts of a stimulus together to make a more organized or pleasing form. Organize individual parts of a stimulus into familiar patterns. Fill-in missing parts to create a more logical whole. PRACTICE: Practice with your fellow students by proposing several examples or drawings for each GPS. Share them with each other and see if you can recognize the applicable GPS.

Gender Schema

Gender schema theory refers to the theory that children learn about what it means to be male and female from the culture in which they live. According to this theory, children adjust their behavior to fit in with the gender norms and expectations of their culture.

Emotional Interference

Heightened emotions with respect to one memory can simultaneously increase the strength of the LTM trace for that concept, AND decrease the strength of other memories occurring immediately before, or at the same time as, the emotional event.

Spreading Activation

How semantic networks process recall events. When working memory focuses attention on a node (1 degree), any nodes directly connected to that node (2 degree) are activated first. Next, any nodes connected to those nodes are activated (3 degree), and so on. This is the "spreading" effect indicated in the name of this phenomenon. Speed of connection between nodes is NOT equivalent. Stronger semantic connections—those that are more similar or more closely related—fire more rapidly (demonstrating the power of semantic encoding, elaborative rehearsal, and The Expensive Memory Principle) Frequently used connections fire more rapidly (demonstrating the power of spaced repetition).

State-Dependent Learning

If a memory is encoded in a particular place or setting, or in conjunction with a sight, sound or smell, recall is enhanced when attempted in a matching state - at the same place, in the same setting, or in conjunction with the same sight, sound or smell.

Insufficient Repetition

If you have forgotten something that you once studied and attempted to remember, it is because of insufficient repetition. Read that one more time. If you do NOT confidently remember ALL of the concepts from previous Student Study Manual chapters, Group Sessions, or Mastery sessions (which should be your goal),l it is almost certainly the results of insufficient attention to regular spaced repetitions. Spaced Repetition throughout your Altius MCAT course is exponentially more efficient for creating strong LTM traces than the "cram and walk away" method employed by some Altius students: WHAT NOT TO DO: a) Cram hard during the week you are covering that lesson in the Student Study Manual; then...rarely, if ever, revisit those topics again. b) Attend Group Sessions and attempt the MCAT problems; then...leave group session and never look at those questions or topics again. WHAT TO DO: a) Use Anki. The Anki software program is a godsend for easily managing successful spaced repetition. It keeps perfect track of when the next spaced repetition is required, and delivers it to you at precise intervals. b) Review every concept you encounter during Group or Mastery Sessions. If a topic has been covered in Group Session, it should be either 1) A concept you already knew at a deep conceptual level, OR 2) A concept you studied after the Group Session and entered into Anki as a conceptual notecard.

Q16. Describe the factors that determine when a person is near- or far-sighted. Where is the image formed in both cases? What type of lens is needed to correct each condition?

In normally-sighted individuals, images coming into the eye are focused directly on the retina (see the top panel in the figure below). However, nearsightedness (myopia) is generally associated with either an elongation of the eye or severe curvature of the cornea such that the image tends to focus too early (see middle panel in the figure below). This results in people having more difficulty seeing things at a distance. Farsightedness, on the other hand, is associated with an eye that is too short or a cornea that doesn't curve enough. In this case, people have more difficulty seeing things that are relatively close. In both cases, the problems with eyeshape and/or curvature of the cornea can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses, and/or surgery.

Retrograde Amnesia

In retrograde amnesia, memories created prior to the event cannot be remembered, but new memories can still be created.

Familiarity Effect

Increasing level of familiarity with the example increases recall or verification rate (ex. "A dog is a mammal" will be verified more quickly than "An aardvark is a mammal"). Familiarity effects vary; the example given may not be true for a person living in a country with a large population of aardvarks.

Memory:

Involves three distinct processes: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval.

Long-Term Memory Traces are FRAGILE and CONSTANTLY DECAY:

It is a common misconception that once a memory is encoded into long-term memory it is safely stored for future use. Nothing could be further from the truth! Remember that without rehearsal, short-term memory lasts for only 15-30 seconds. Being "just inside" the boundaries of "long-term" memory isn't saying much. It means you might be able to remember your target for about one minute. A fresh long-term memory is a very fragile thing. It must be rehearsed (elaborative rehearsal being strongly preferred) or it WILL decay and be forgotten. Maintaining long-term memory is like walking up a down escalator. If you are not actively planning and implementing spaced repetitions, you are forgetting!

Ways One Can Learn to Associate Two Events Latent Learning:

Learning that exists WITHOUT the presentation of a reward, but is spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is presented. For example, mice with access to a maze have been shown to "learn" to negotiate the maze on their own, without reinforcement of any kind. Subsequently, when a food reward is offered on the other side of the maze they negotiate the maze to obtain the food. This is a LIMIT on the applicability of associative learning because it shows that various cognitions, ABSENT conditions, still result in learning.

Operant Conditioning

Learning to associate a behavior with a consequence. When you see "Operant Conditioning" think: operant conditioning = REINFORCEMENT OF VOLUNTARY BEHAVIOR ! CONSEQUENCES: In contrast to classical conditioning, where everything hinges on an instinctual response, in operant conditioning everything hinges on consequences (reinforcements). Subjects voluntarily choose to perform or avoid a behavior because they associate it with a positive or negative consequence. OperantProcesses: Shaping Extinction Types of Reinforcement: Positive Negative Primary Conditioned Fixed-Ratio Variable-Ratio Fixed-Interval Variable-Interval

Classical Conditioning

Learning to associate one stimulus with another. When you see "classical conditioning" THINK : Classical conditioning = INSTINCTUAL responses! For example, Pavlov's dogs did not choose to salivate, it happened automatically as a biological reflex. They did not choose to salivate to the sound of a bell either -- they were conditioned to associate that stimulus with food, generating the same automatic biological response. Everything in classical conditioning depends on the automatic nature of some reflex, instinct, or biological response. Stimulus Types: Neutral Conditioned Unconditioned Response Types: Conditioned Unconditioned Response Conditioning Processes: Be familiar with each process, understand why it is occurring, be able to predict influences that would change it (e.g., strengthen, weaken, increase rate, decrease rate, cause extinction), and create your own real-life examples (OTHER THAN Pavlov's Dogs). Acquisition Extinction Spontaneous Recovery Generalization

Cones

Less sensitive than rods, perceive color, fine resolution of detail, and contain three pigments, each of which show maximum light absorption at a different wavelength. The three "max absorption" wavelengths of the three cone pigments are roughly equivalent to blue, green and red. NOTE: relative number of cones = X

Processes that Aide in Encoding Memories

Listed in order of approximate INCREASING efficacy in producing strong, long-lived, semantic memories: - Mnemonics -Chunking - Peg-word System -Method of Loci -State- Dependent Learning -Self-Reference Effect - The Testing Effect - The Spacing Effect -Desirable Difficulties

Q9. Explain the purpose and function of mirror neurons with respect to motor functions and empathy. Identify on your BRAIN MAP the brain regions where motor neurons are located.

Mirror neurons are a class of neuron that are active when we watch someone else perform a behavior and again when we do the behavior ourselves. Some mirror neurons are active when we see a given facial expression of emotion and then again when we make the same facial expression. In this way, mirror neurons may serve as a neural basis for phenomena which range from observational learning of various motoric behaviors as well as for empathy. Although they may be located in other areas of the brain, mirror neurons have been identified in important motor and sensory areas like primary motor (somatomotor in figure below) and somatosensory cortices.

Mnemonic

Mnemonic devices are techniques a person can use to help them improve their ability to remember something. In other words, it's a memory technique to help your brain better encode and recall important information. It's a simple shortcut that helps us associate the information we want to remember with an image, a sentence, or a word. Mnemonic devices are very old, with some dating back to ancient Greek times. Virtually everybody uses them, even if they don't know their name. It's simply a way of memorizing information so that it "sticks" within our brain longer and can be recalled more easily in the future.

MEMORY STUDIES:

Numerous studies have investigated semantic networks and spreading activation. A common study design is to present subjects with a sentence and ask if it is true or false (e.g., A cat is an animal; An insect is an animal; subjects verify the first sentence as true rapidly; the second sentence is usually verified, but more slowly). The speed with which the subject responds indicates the relatedness of the association. Manipulating the words involved can reveal characteristics of the LTM network. Another study approach is to present subjects with loosely associated letters and ask them to verify that the letters form a word. In this case, the letter string N U R S E will likely be verified as a word by most subjects, but it will be verified more quickly if the previous word was D O C T O R (priming). A primer is an example of retrieval cue.

Proactive interference

Occurs when old memories interfere with the formation of new ones (ex. you struggle to remember your new phone number because you keep reverting to your old one).

Signal Detection Theory Q12. Provide a conceptual definition for the Signal Detection Theory and response bias. Draw the four-quadrant diagram often used to demonstrate the two conditions and four possible outcomes during signal detection.

Our sensory systems are bombarded with potential stimuli, and often decisions have to be made with regards to a stimulus' salience against a background of potential noise. Signal detection theory basically combines sensory processing and decision making. In the simplest sense, the decision is whether or not a stimulus, or "signal", is present. While the properties of a stimulus may not change, the criterion by which we make a decision regarding the presence or absence of the stimulus may change as a function of expectation or motivation. For example, a new mother may be able to sleep through a neighbor's car alarm but wake instantly upon her infant's making a much more subtle noise in its crib. In this case, the mother's response criteria are shifted downward for noises made by her baby, but are shifted upwards for other extraneous environmental sounds. Shifting criteria sets up response biases such that some sub- threshold stimulation may be recognized as a signal while supra-threshold stimuli may go unnoticed. The various outcomes in signal detection theory are shown below.

Positive vs. Negative Recall

Positive memories are usually remembered more easily, and negative memories forgotten more easily. However, individuals suffering from depression often remember positive and negative memories equally. Older adults tend to show a stronger recall bias for positive vs. negative memories.

Differences in level of detail

Positive memories usually include more accompanying detail than do negative memories.

Prejudice

Prejudice is an unjustified or incorrect attitude (usually negative) towards an individual based solely on the individual's membership of a social group. A prejudiced person may not act on their attitude. Therefore, someone can be prejudiced towards a certain group but not discriminate against them. Also, prejudice includes all three components of an attitude (affective, behavioral and affective), whereas discrimination just involves behavior.

Priming Effect

Presenting a related word first increases recall or verification rate. If DOCTOR is presented before NURSE, it speeds up the recognition of NURSE. In this examples DOCTOR is the primer and Nurse is the target. (ex. Roast Boast Coast, .......) What goes in a toaster? - After seeing these three words you are prime to say toast.

Prospective memory

Prospective memory is the ability to remember to do something at some future time. For example, a patient remembering to take their medication, or a student remembering to return a library book, are both examples of prospective memory.

Proximity

Proximity suggests that objects that are near to one another are more likely to be grouped together. Proximity occurs when elements are placed close together. They tend to be perceived as a group.

Perception

REMEMBER that sensation and perception are NOT equivalent! Think of sensation as a PHYSIOLOGICAL process (sensory receptor cells and action potentials). Think of perception as a PSYCHOLOGICAL process (making sense of the signal, influenced by experience, bias, etc.)

Category Size Effect

Recall and verification rate increase if the category has a few members, and decrease if the category has many members (ex. "A poodle is a dog" will be verified more quickly than "A poodle is a mammal").

Source Monitoring Errors

Recall errors in which the source of the memory is inaccurately identified, sometimes called source amnesia. It is believed that memory for the source of information (source memory) is not specifically labeled during encoding. Instead, it is part of the general details and context stored with the memory. During recall, the individual makes one of two judgments to determine the source.

Mirror Neurons

Role of the Brain in Experiencing Vicarious Emotion Mirror neurons in the brain have been shown to fire both when we feel an emotion, and when we observe someone else feeling that emotion.

Shallow Functional vs. Deep Processing

SHALLOW= Structural or Phonemic Processing. Structural processing is encoding what things look like (ex. words on a textbook page). Phonemic processing is encoding what things sound like (ex. repeating a term aloud, or in one's head). Both structural and phonemic processing involve ONLY maintenance rehearsal and produce weak, short-lived memories. DEEP = Semantic Processing. Semantic processing involves encoding the meaning of a concept, the context surrounding a concept, or making relational connections to other previously- encoded memories. Semantic processing involves elaborative rehearsal and produces strong, long-term memories.

Automatic Spreading Activation

Said to occur when the primer is a category name and the target is an example within that category. (ex. fruit and apple)

Semantic Networks

Semantic processing and memory storage is all about adding context and meaning to what would otherwise be a rote fact. A semantic network is a theory for explaining how our long-term memory (LTM) stores concepts and the relationships amount them. This theory proposes the following: The LTM is a web-like network of concepts. Each concept is called a node; In semantic network diagrams nodes are represented as circles or ovals. Relationships between concepts are represented by connecting lines or arrows. In semantic network diagrams the length of the connecting line or arrow is inversely proportional to the strength of the association between the concepts. Each node can be, and usually is, connected to multiple related nodes. (vehicle --> truck; vehicle --> sports car; vehicle --> fire engine; fire engine --> red; fire engine --> fire). TWO TYPES OF LINKS = Superordinate and Modifier. Superordinate links connect the concept to a category name, indicating the concept is a member of that larger class (e.g., cat mammal). Modifier links connect a concept to its properties (e.g., cat whiskers).

Q13. There are both physical/physiological examples of sensory adaptation, and perceptual/psychological examples of sensory adaptation. Provide two real-life examples of each.

Sensory adaptation occurs when sensory receptors become less sensitive to a stimulus automatically. When you first walk into a candle store, you may be overwhelmed with the various scents that are bombarding your olfactory receptors. After spending a few minutes in the store, the smell becomes less intense because your olfactory receptors have adapted to the olfactory stimuli and are less sensitive to them. Sensory habituation, on the other hand, involves attention. When you are at a party, the noise from the music, talking, and general merriment is quite loud. However, you barely notice it while you're having a conversation with a friend who is nearby because you have focused your attention on the conversation.

Q7. Provide a conceptual definition for the following terms as they relate to operant conditioning: shaping, extinction, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, primary reinforcement, and conditioned reinforcement.

Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations for some target behavior. If you've ever tried to teach a dog to sit on command, you know that you can't expect the dog to sit the first time it's told to do so. Rather, you shape the dog's behavior gradually for doing things that are similar to sitting until you have it sitting regularly on command. Extinction involves a given behavior that has previously been acquired. Extinction occurs when a behavior results in no consequences. Reinforcement is defined as anything that makes a behavior more likely to occur in the future. Positive reinforcement means presenting something that results in reinforcement. So for instance, if you gave a child a piece of candy for cleaning their room, you have positively reinforced that behavior. Negative reinforcement involves removing something to reinforce a behavior. So for instance, when you buckle your seat belt in your car, the annoying beep beep beep that the car makes stops and this negatively reinforces your seatbelt buckling behavior. Punishment is defined as anything that makes a behavior less likely to occur. Positive punishment involves presenting something to result in punishment. Parents who spank their children to try to make bad behavior less common are attempting to use positive punishment. Negative punishment involves removing something to make behavior less likely to occur in the future. Parents who punish children by taking away phone privileges are attempting to use negative punishment to modify their children's behaviors. A conditioned reinforcer has no reinforcing value, in and of itself, but rather it takes on reinforcing value because it has been associated with a primary reinforce. So in a way, principles of classical conditioning come into play with conditioned reinforcement. The green paper with pictures of dead presidents that we carry around in our wallets have no intrinsic value, but given that it has been paired with food, water, shelter, etc. in the past makes it something that takes on reinforcing value by association.

Similarity

Similarity suggests that like objects are more likely to be grouped together. The law of similarity states that elements within an assortment of objects are perceptually grouped together if they are similar to each other. This similarity can occur in the form of shape, colour, shading or other qualities. For example, the figure illustrating the law of similarity portrays 36 circles all equal distance apart from one another forming a square. In this depiction, 18 of the circles are shaded dark and 18 of the circles are shaded light. We perceive the dark circles as grouped together, and the light circles as grouped together forming six horizontal lines within the square of circles. This perception of lines is due to the law of similarity.

1) Which observation does NOT support the hypothesis that elaborative rehearsal produces stronger long- term memories than maintenance rehearsal? A) Students who have previously studied other documents from the revolutionary war era are more likely to remember the preamble to the Constitution than those who study only the preamble. B) Students were given vocabulary words alone, or words with accompanying definitions. Students were more successful at memorizing words given with an accompanying definition. C) Teachers who explain why a concept is important before presenting the topic for the first time have students with higher test scores than those who present the same concepts alone. D) Students were given one familiar vocabulary word alone, or one familiar vocabulary word plus an unfamiliar word. Students were more successful at memorizing the two-word pairs than they were the familiar word alone.

Solution: Elaborative rehearsal is the process of studying a concept by focusing on its meaning, purpose, and relationship to other topics. This is a NOT question, so three of the answer should support the hypothesis. Answers A, B and C all explain situations in which having more context (other revolutionary documents, accompanying definitions, and the importance of the topic being taught) resulted in better results. Answer D describes a circumstance in which having two words resulted in better results than one word alone. However, the better results occurred when the two words were unrelated. This seems unlikely, but even if it is true, it is not a logical support for elaborative rehearsal, making D the correct answer.

Two rats have been conditioned to press a lever for food. To demonstrate the effect of negative reinforcement on the behavior of the rats, scientists could: A) deliver a painful shock when the bar is pressed. B) deliver a painful shock that is removed when the bar is pressed. C) reward the negative behavior of "not pressing the bar" with a food reward. D) reward the rats with food when they press the bar.

Solution: Negative reinforcement is a conditioning process in which behavior is encouraged by the removal of a stimulus. Because the removal is encouraging, it must be a negative or undesirable stimulus that is removed. Answer B describes this process because it is the removal of the painful shock that is reinforcing to the rats. Answer A is false because this is a positive punishment. Answer C is incorrect because this is positive reinforcement. Do not be confused by the term "undesirable behavior." "Positive" and "negative" in this case refer to the presence or absence of a stimulus, not the relative value of the behavior. One can positively reinforce a very undesirable behavior—such as when a tantrum is reinforced positively by giving the child what they are asking for (and thereby encouraging the behavior of tantrums). Answer D is false because this is also an example of positive reinforcement.

2) Autism researchers have discovered that adolescents with severe autistic behavior have significantly more neuronal synapses than do non-autistic children of the same age. This symptom could be the result of a decrease in: A) long-term potentiation B) long-term depression C) synaptic pruning D) neurotransmitter levels

Solution: Synaptic pruning is the removal of unused or less-frequently used synapses, especially during child development. A decrease in the removal rate would result in a greater number of synapses, making Answer C correct. Answers A and B are false because they refer to the relative strength of a synapse, not the number of synapses present. Answer D is false because a decrease in neurotransmitter levels would not cause an increase in the number of synapses.

The Testing Effect

Testing (forced active recall) during the learning phase dramatically increases retention. This is so counterintuitive to students, it may need to be clarified. The traditional order is: LEARN --> REHEARSE --> TEST. The testing effect indicates that you should move testing from the end of the process to the beginning. Testing should be part of the learning process itself.

Hearing:

The Ear Outer Ear: Includes the pinna (earlobe) and auditory canal. Middle Ear: Includes the tympanic membrane (eardrum), and the three middle ear bones (in this order outside to inside, lateral to medial): Malleus, Incus & Stapes. Inner Ear: Includes the cochlea, vestibule, semicircular canals and the vestibulocochlear nerve. Auditory Pathways: Transmission pathway of an auditory impulse, in order, from the hair cells to the auditory cortex: sound wave->auricle->external auditory canal->tympanic membrane->malleus->incus->stapes->oval window->perilymph(Fluid in cochlea)->endolymph(fluid contained in the membranous labyrinth)->basilar membrane->auditory hair cells->tectorial membrane ->nerotransmitters stimulate bipolar auditory neurons -> brain-> perception.

method of loci

The Method of Loci is a mnemonic device that dates back to Ancient Greek times, making it one of the oldest ways of memorizing we know of. Using the Method of Loci is easy. First, imagine a place with which you are familiar. For instance, if you use your house, the rooms in your house become the objects of information you need to memorize. Another example is to use the route to your work or school, with landmarks along the way becoming the information you need to memorize. You go through a list of words or concepts needing memorization, and associate each word with one of your locations. You should go in order so that you will be able to retrieve all of the information in the future.

Memory Construction:

The creation, fabrication, or recall of false memories.

Sensation

The detection of environmental stimuli by sensory receptors, conversion of the stimuli to an electrical impulse, and transmission of that impulse to the Central Nervous System (CNS).

Q21. Draw and label all of the parts of the inner ear and describe their function. Include a cross-section of the cochlea showing the three compartments and the organ of Corti.

The external auditory canal funnels sound waves into the ear and cause the tympanic membrane to vibrate. The three ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes) move because of the vibration of the tympanic membrane. The stapes actually presses into the oval window of the cochlea. Inner hair cells along the basilar membrane of the fluid-filled cochlea are distended as a result, and this is transduced into neural impulses that travel to the brain for processing.

Operant Conditioning Summary:

The following table summarizes the possible forms of operant conditioning. A plus sign indicates a stimulus being applied or a behavior being present. A minus sign indicates a stimulus being removed, or a behavior being stopped/reduced.

ENCODING

The initial process of memory creation, including sensation and the transient storage of the information in working memory.

Good Gestalt

The law of good gestalt explains that elements of objects tend to be perceptually grouped together if they form a pattern that is regular, simple, and orderly.

Past experience

The law of past experience implies that under some circumstances visual stimuli are categorized according to past experience. If two objects tend to be observed within close proximity, or small temporal intervals, the objects are more likely to be perceived together.

Optics

The lens of the human eye is a CONVERGING lens and therefore always produces a PRI image. Light rays are bent primarily by the cornea, and only adjusted by the lens. Lasik surgery reshapes the cornea, NOT the lens. A blind spot exists for each eye where the optic nerve passes through the retina.

Weber's Law

The minimum just-noticeable-difference (JND) for a stimulus is directly proportional to the magnitude of the original stimulus. Mathematically, it can be said that the ratio of the JND to the magnitude of the original stimulus is a constant for a given stimulus type (sound, light, weight, etc.).

Threshold

The minimum magnitude of a stimulus, or the minimum difference in magnitude between two stimuli, that can be perceived by the CNS.

NERVOUS SYSTEM PREVIEW PROJECT:

The nervous system is a high-value MCAT-2015 topic likely to be tested on every single exam form. MCAT-2015 requires making several connections between psychology concepts and nervous system concepts. There are multiple bridges between the psychology and biology chapters of the Altius Student Study Manual, in this case between Psychology 1 and Biology 2. To maximize your performance, we will review both topics multiple times, beginning now. By having you look up and answer an italicized question that contains nervous system concepts you have not yet covered in this manual, we are using a proven memory science principle called "Testing Effects"—which you just learned about!

Figure Ground

The observer can either see a vase (white figure with black background) or two faces (black figure with white background).

Recency Effect

The recency effect predicts that the last few concepts presented will be remembered at a higher rate. It refers to a better recall for the items at the end of a list.

Sensory Adaptation

The reduction of sensory responsiveness when stimulation is unchanging; Prevents us from having to continuously respond to unimportant information (Ex: the feel of a watch or eyeglasses)

Elaborative Rehearsal (a.k.a , Semantic Rehearsal)

The rehearsal of new information by thinking about its meaning, purpose, and relationship to previously-known concepts. This is how you MUST study for MCAT-2015 if you hope to earn a top-notch score.

Q15. A student makes the proclamation "The cells of the retina appear to be arranged upside down!" Explain this observation and why it helps account for the existence of a blind spot.

The retina is arranged such that the photoreceptors face away from the light and then make connections with several layers of cells that are closer to the source of the incoming light. So, in a way, the retina is indeed arranged "upside down." Because the retinal ganglion cells are actually on the outside layer of the retina that is closest to the source of incoming light, their axons actually have to project back through the retina in order to form the optic nerve to travel to the brain. The place at which all of the axons of the retinal ganglion cells project through the rear of the eye, therefore, have no photoreceptors. This area is known as the optic disc or the blind spot.

Maintenance Rehearsal

The rote, repetitive rehearsal of new information without thinking about its meaning or context (often by repeating it [aloud or in your head], re-writing it, or re-reading it multiple times). This is how almost every college student studies for exams, AND for the MCAT. It is abysmally ineffective. Maintenance rehearsal can only maintain information in the working memory, or at most create a weak, very-short-lived long-term memory. Without further attention, maintenance rehearsal will NEVER result in strong long-term memory storage.

Q1. Provide a conceptual definition for the encoding aides not outlined above: self-reference effect, mnemonic, peg-word system, method of loci, and chunking.

The self-reference effect describes the observation that the brain encodes information more easily, and forms stronger memories, when the information being encoded is more closely related to or involving oneself. This helps explain why abstract concepts are particularly difficult to remember and retain. When studying for MCAT-2015, you can take advantage of this memory aide by making everything you study as relevant as possible to yourself and your previous real-life experience. Italicized Question #3: Can I think of Real-Life Examples guides you toward this end. A mnemonic is a fairly general term referring to any pattern of letters, symbols or associations that help one remember something. For example, the hormone mnemonic FLAT PEG is used widely to remember the hormones secreted by the anterior pituitary because the first capital letter of each word is also the first letter of a hormone: FSH, LH, ACTH, TSH, Prolactin, and Growth Hormone (GH). The peg-word system is a two-step method for remembering rotely memorized lists. First, a person must create a peg list. The peg list associates numbers with words that rhyme with those numbers or are otherwise closely associated, such as: 1-RUN, 2-BLUE, 3-FREE. The peg list can be as large or as small as desired. It is committed to long-term memory—usually from frequent use. The peg list is NOT used once for only one application (as is a mnemonic like FLAT PEG); it can be used over and over again for memorizing many lists. For each new word that must be remembered, the person creates a short phrase or visualization relating the "new" word to the peg word. For example, if I needed to remember to pick up socks, toothpaste, and a dozen eggs from the store, I would visualize and/or recite something like: "RUN-ing without socks," "The toothpaste brand with the blue stripe," and "when I saw the 'FREE FARM EGGS' sign" a few weeks ago. Next week, I may need to get deodorant, bananas and cheese. I can reuse the same peg list by imagining: "Needing deodorant after a RUN," "BLUE cheese," (It doesn't matter that I plan to buy cheddar, I'll remember that when it comes to my mind at the store), and a "monkey asking for FREE bananas." At the store, I can run through my peg list: 1-RUN, 2-BLUE, 3-FREE, etc., and the associations will almost instantly be recalled. The method of loci system is very similar to the peg word system. In this system, one associates words to be remembered with visual checkpoints or objects within a room, along a hallway, or along your morning jogging route. For example, to remember the same list described above (socks, toothpaste, eggs) one might imagine socks sitting on the back porch, stepping on a tube of toothpaste in the driveway, and running over a carton of eggs at the street corner. If one jogs that route regularly, the items can be much easier to remember once visualized in this way. It is worth noting that mnemonics, the peg-word system, and method of loci are not true semantic memory aides because they lack genuine meaning and understanding. They take advantage of neuronal interlacing by associating a new piece of information with something already known or easily remembered, but when you remember FLAT PiG that has no actual meaning relevant to the anterior pituitary—it is just a method of recalling names. Remembering FLAT PiG will not prompt you to remember how each hormone works, merely the names of the hormones. Finally, chunking was described in detail in the Introduction section of the Altius Student Study Manual. The example was given then of separating a long set of numbers into a telephone number in its orderly sets of (XXX) XXX-XXXX. When you make notecards, make them simple, chunking information both in terms of shorter segments or bullet-points, and visually, in terms of spacing information out across the notecard.

Self-reference Effect

The self-reference effect is the tendency for individuals to have better memory for information that relates to oneself in comparison to material that has less personal relevance

Instinctive Drift

The tendency of a subject of operant conditioning to revert from a conditioned response to an instinctual response -- often one that is similar to the conditioned response (ex. any behavior similar to food-seeking behaviors are very difficult to replace with a conditioned response because the animal has strong food-related instincts.) This is a fourth LIMIT on the applicability of associative learning.

Aging and Memory:

The three "Reasons for Forgetting" we just reviewed explain why a healthy, physiologically normal adult would forget something. If the forgetting is associated with aging, it is more likely to be the result of age-related physiological changes or disease. Normal Age-Related Memory Loss: Some degree of mild memory loss or cognitive functioning with age is considered normal. Max brain size occurs in the 20s and decreases with age thereafter. TRENDS BY MEMORY TYPE: Sharpest, Most-Noticeable Decline = Episodic Memory (Autobiographical; What did I do last Friday night? Where was I when Kennedy was assassinated?), and Source Memory (Autobiographical; Where did I read about or learn that? Who told me about Kennedy's Assassination?) Little to No Decline = Semantic Memory or Implicit Memory, including Procedural Memory.

Parallel Processing and Feature Definition Q20. Provide a conceptual definition for the terms parallel processing and feature definition.

The visual system processes different aspects of the visual world in separate streams of information. This is referred to as parallel processing. For instance, motion and color would be processed in different areas. More broadly speaking, several sensory systems process information about "what" a given stimulus is separate from information about "where" the stimulus is in the environment or "how" one might interact with the stimulus. Ultimately, these separate streams of information are tied together as a uniform sensory percept. Some cells in the visual system are described as feature detectors because they are sensitive and show the ability to discriminate among very complex stimuli like faces.

Observational Learning and Social-Cognitive Theory:

These two concepts are so closely intertwined they are easy to confuse. Observational learning is a generalized term describing any learning that results from observation of the behavior of others. Social-Cognitive Theory is a broad psychological perspective that attempts to explain behavior, learning and other phenomena. Social Cognitive Theory INCLUDES observational learning as one of its tenants, however, it is only one of four, which are: observational learning, self-efficacy, situational influences AND cognitive processes. Albert Bandura: Originator of the Social-Cognitive Theory.He is also the scientist who conducted the Bobo Doll Experiment discussed previously. He is very often discussed with respect to observational learning.

Common Fate

Things that move together are likely to be grouped. The law of common fate states that objects are perceived as lines that move along the smoothest path. Experiments using the visual sensory modality found that movement of elements of an object produce paths that individuals perceive that the objects are on. We perceive elements of objects to have trends of motion, which indicate the path that the object is on. The law of continuity implies the grouping together of objects that have the same trend of motion and are therefore on the same path. For example, if there are an array of dots and half the dots are moving upward while the other half are moving downward, we would perceive the upward moving dots and the downward moving dots as two distinct units.

Continuity

This Gestalt law states that learners "tend to continue shapes beyond their ending points". The edge of one shape will continue into the space and meet up with other shapes or the edge of the picture plane.

(T/F) If a person can barely detect a temperature change from 25 F to 27 F, they will also be able to barely detect a temperature change from 70 F to 72 F. Explain your answer using Weber's Law.

This statement is false. Weber's law states that proportion of change in any given stimulus required to detect that change (i.e. difference threshold) is a constant value. In other words, if we require a 50% change in a given stimulus in order to detect a difference, then that will always be true. A change of 2°F represents an 8% change from 25°F but only a 2.8% change from 70°F. A 5.6°F change from 70°F would be necessary to detect the change.

Perceptual Organization

This term refers generally to our ability to use what information we do have about an incomplete stimulus, such as depth, form, motion, and constancy to "fill in the blanks" and thereby perceive a whole, continuous picture.

Retrieval

Types of Retrieval: Retrieval is any use or application of a stored memory. We generally associate this with remembering and then producing a correct answer to an open question (ex. TEACHER: "what is the capital of California?" STUDENT: "Sacramento"). This is only one of three forms of retrieval: *Recall= Retrieval and active statement or correct application of a memory. *Recognition = Associating information with an existing memory (THINK: "re" - "cognition"). *Relearning= Increased learning efficiency when reinforcing an existing memory.

Heuristic Judgments

UNCONSCIOUS determination of the source based on clues or short-cuts associated with the memory.

Ways One Can Learn to Associate Two Events Automatic (cognitive processes and associative learning):

UNCONSCIOUS, unintentional, and stimulus-driven. Stimulus-driven means the association is determined by the event (stimulus) experienced.

Typicality Effect

Using a typical example of a concept increases recall or verification rate over using a less-typical example (ex. "A robin is a bird" will be verified more quickly than "A penguin is a bird").

Visual Processing

Visual Pathways: Know the transmission pathway of a visual impulse, in order, from retinal cells to the visual cortex. 1) CONES TO OPTIC NERVE 2) OPTIC NERVE: Think of the optic nerve as a bundle of two separate fibers, one carrying the information for the left-half of the visual field for that eye, and the other fiber carrying information for the right-half of that same visual field. 3) Optic Chiasm = Part of the brain where the optic nerves partially cross. 4) Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) = Part of the thalamus; think of it as a relay center between the optic nerve and the visual cortex of the occipital lobe. 5) Visual Cortex = Part of the occipital lobe responsible for processing visual stimuli.

Desirable Difficulties

What we at Altius call "The expensive memory principle" . Easy learning processes produce memories that are easily forgotten. Challenging, more difficult learning processes -- those that are more "expensive" in terms of the time and effort invested to master the concept produce memories that are difficult to forget. The latter involves deep processing and produces strong long-term memories (assuming the existence of spaced rehearsals).

Q17. What happens to the eye as you attempt to focus on a book very near your face? Do the ciliary muscles contract or relax? Does the curvature of the lens increase or decrease? Does the focal point move outward or inward (i.e., increase or decrease)? Does the power of the lens of the eye increase or decrease?

When looking at a something that is near, the ciliary muscles contract which causes the lens to become more curved and thick and shortens the eyes focal length. As it does so, the lens' refractive power is increased.

Q28. Use the internet, psychology textbooks, or other resources to identify the Gestalt Principle demonstrated by each of the twelve figures in the following diagram:

When you first look at this picture you likely see a series of irregular dark spots. You are simply perceiving the visual stimulus (i.e. bottom-up processing). However, if you were told that this actually an image of a Dalmatian with its head down and to the left, you may experience a completely different percept. Now, your higher level expectations are providing an organization to this stimulus to let you perceive a dog (i.e. top-down processing). Schemas would be most closely related to issues related to top-down processing.

Gender Script

a temporally organized gender related sequence of events. A female gender script can be laundry, cooking and male gender script can be building, mowing or barbecuing.

Norms

are rules of conduct that guide people's behaviors and differ from culture to culture, which can include folkways, mores, and laws.

Mores

are strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior. Mores are norms based on definitions of right and wrong. Unlike folkways, mores are morally significant. People feel strongly about them and violating them typically results in disapproval. Religious doctrines are an example of mores. For instance, if someone were to attend church in the nude, he or she would offend most people of that culture and would be morally shunned. Also, parents who believe in the more that only married people should live together will disapprove of their daughter living with her boyfriend. They may consider the daughter's actions a violation of their moral guidelines.

Convexity

convex rather than concave patterns will tend to be perceived as figures

Parietal lobes

do not directly control alertness. Involved in thinking and touch.

Reticular activating system

involved in controlling alertness

somatosensory cortex

involved in receiving the sensory signals from the skin.

Negative Reinforcement

is a conditioning process in which behavior is encouraged by the removal of a stimulus.

A taboo

is a norm that society holds so strongly that violating it results in extreme disgust. Often times the violator of the taboo is considered unfit to live in that society. For instance, in some Muslim cultures, eating pork is taboo because the pig is considered unclean. At the more extreme end, incest and cannibalism are taboos in most countries.

Self-Reference Effect

is a phenomenon of memory that causes an individual to encode information differently depending on the degree of personal involvement in the sequence of events being encoded. Research has shown that the greater the person's involvement, the greater the level and accuracy of recall. For instance, if an individual is involved in a car accident, the memory will be much more intense than if the accident had only been witnessed.

Habituation

is a reduced response rate observed for an innate (unconscious) behavior. Reduced response rate observed for a conditioned behavior is called extinction.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

is proposed as a subcomponent of working memory.

Retroactive interference

occurs when new memories interfere with the recall of old ones (ex. because of the limited size of short-term memory, if you have committed several words to short-term memory, attempting to memorize more words will cause you to forget some of the original ones).

The Spacing Effect

that we learn material more effectively and easily when we study it several times spaced out over a longer time span, rather than trying to learn it in a short period of time. As you can guess, this means that cramming for an exam the night before is not as effective as studying material each night over a week or some period of time. There's one caveat - this holds true for material you want to store for a long time (i.e., really store it in memory), whereas cramming can work to store information for short periods of time.

Memory is......

the encoding, storage, and retrieval of INFORMATION.

Modeling

the process of learning a behavior by watching others and then mimicking their behavior. Modeling is only ONE way that we can learn through observation. Observing others may also result in us learning NOT to model their behavior. (e.g., Your brother touches a hot stove and you see how much it hurts him). Observational learning may also motivate us to proactively engage in entirely unrelated behaviors (e.g., You see one person attempt to climb the mountain and fail. You see another succeed, but only after extreme sacrifice. You determine that mountain climbing isn't rewarding and take up kayaking instead).

Somatosensation

touch, texture, pressure, vibration, pain, stretching, and temperature.

Sensory Adaptation

when exposed to a stimulus for the first time, your brain becomes primed, meaning your brain's responsiveness to that stimulus increases for a time (ex. you start to notice it more, and pay more attention to it). However, if the stimulus is repeated continuously your brain will begin to decrease attention to that stimulus. Eventually it will be considered background noise and ignored completely.