MCAT Behavioral Sciences and Sensory Perception Quiz

MCAT Behavioral Sciences Review

• The document is written, compiled, and printed by MCATBROS, and can be accessed for free using a link provided.

• Khan Academy videos transcribed in the notes can also be found on their website.

• Printed copies are available for a nominal fee, and used copies can be found on Facebook.

• MCATBROS offers personalized MCAT tutoring, coaching, and accountability services, as well as used books for low prices.

• The notes cover a wide range of topics in behavioral sciences, including visual and auditory processing, sensory systems, consciousness, memory, intelligence, language, emotions, stress, nervous system, and mental disorders.

• The notes also cover topics in social psychology, such as conformity, obedience, social influence, stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.

• Specific concepts discussed include visual cues, sensory adaptation, Weber's law, absolute threshold of sensation, somatosensation, the vestibular system, signal detection theory, feature detection, parallel processing, and the phototransduction cascade.

• The notes also cover the anatomy and functions of the brain, neurotransmitters, sleep stages, and motor development.

• Theories discussed include Piaget's stages of cognitive development, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, cognitive dissonance theory, and social learning theory.

• The notes provide information on various mental disorders, including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and personality disorders.

• Other topics covered include learning, self-concept, attribution theory, prejudice, and discrimination.

• The document includes references to additional resources for further study and learning.Overview of Social Sciences and Sensory Perception

• The text covers various topics in social sciences, including self-identity, social influences, physical attraction, aggression, social support, discrimination, and social institutions.

• It also discusses different social theories such as functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.

• The concept of sensory perception is also covered, including visual cues, monocular cues, and sensory adaptation.

• Weber's Law is explained, which states that the just noticeable difference (JND) between two stimuli is proportional to the magnitude of the stimuli.

• The absolute threshold of sensation is defined as the minimum intensity of a stimulus needed to detect it 50% of the time.

• Somatosensation is the perception of temperature, pressure, pain, and position, and is influenced by intensity, timing, and location.

• The vestibular system is responsible for balance and spatial orientation, and detects movement through the semicircular canals and otolithic organs.

• Signal Detection Theory is a method for discerning between important stimuli and unimportant "noise," by determining the strength of a signal and choosing a threshold for response.

• Conservative and liberal strategies can be used for decision making in Signal Detection Theory, with the former prioritizing avoiding false alarms and the latter prioritizing detecting all signals.

• Sensory adaptation is the process by which our senses become desensitized to stimuli over time, and can vary depending on expectations, experience, motivation, and alertness.

• The text also briefly covers topics such as demographics, culture, social inequality, and statistics.

• Overall, the text provides a broad overview of various topics in social sciences and sensory perception.Perception and Vision: Strategies, Principles, and Eye Structure

• Strategies for decision-making in perception include the D strategy, C strategy, and Beta strategy.

• Bottom-up processing begins with the stimulus and is data-driven, while top-down processing uses background knowledge and is theory-driven.

• Gestalt principles, such as similarity, proximity, and continuity, explain how the brain organizes visual information.

• The brain perceives objects as symmetrical and forming around a center point, according to the principle of symmetry.

• The law of common fate states that objects moving in the same direction are perceived as a group.

• The law of past experiences implies that visual stimuli are categorized according to past experiences.

• Contextual effects contribute to how people perceive stimuli, and the context can establish the way stimuli are organized.

• The eye's structure includes the conjunctiva, cornea, anterior chamber, pupil, iris, lens, suspensory ligaments, posterior chamber, vitreous chamber, and retina.

• The cornea is the first part of the eye that light hits and bends light to focus it.

• The pupil modulates the amount of light that enters the eye, while the iris gives the eye its color.

• The lens focuses light specifically on the fovea of the retina by adjusting its shape using the suspensory ligaments.

• The retina contains photoreceptors and is the back area of the eye where the ray of light converges.