AAMC Official Content List for the MCAT 2015 Psych/Soc

Topics: 6C
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1. 3 physio response, behavioral response, cognitive 15. cognitive subjective interpretation of the feeling being
elements response response experienced
of 16. common environmental factors, daily events,
emotion stresses (5) workplace/academia, social expectations,
2. 3 theories James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter-Singer chemical/bio stressors
of 17. conflict need to make a choice
emotion stresses
3. 7 basic happiness, sadness, contempt, surprise, fear, 18. control ability to control one's surroundings reduces
emotions disgust, anger stressors stress levels
by Ekman
19. distinguishing temporal/occipital lobe, lateralized so right
4. adaptive emotions are thought to be evolutionary facial hemi more active when discerning facial
role of adaptations due to situations encountered over expressions expressions
emotion the evolutionary history of the human species
that guide sensory processing, physiological 20. distress occurs when experiencing unpleasant
response, and behavior stressors

5. alarm initial reaction to stressor and activation of symp 21. dorsal assc. with attention and cognition
stage NS, hypo stimulates pituitary to secrete ACTH, prefrontal
adrenal cortex then releases cortisol (maintains cortex
blood sugar), adrenal medulla activated by hypo 22. emotion natural instinctive state of mind derived from
to secrete NE/E one's circumstances, mood, or relationships
6. amygdala small round structure that signals cortex about with others.
stimuli related to attention and emotions, 23. emotionally changing one's feeling about stressor - take
processes environment, detects external cues, focused responsibility for issue, self control, wishful
learns from surroundings to produce emotion. strategy thinking, positive reappraisal
assc. with fear and human emotion thru 24. emotional unconscious, implicit memory for emotions,
interpretation of facial expressions. controls memory storage of actual feelings in emotion
implicit mem (emotional memories) associated with an event
7. approach need to choose between two good things 25. emotional moody, tense, fearful, helpless, difficulty
approach response to concentration/memory
conflict stress
8. approach deals with only one choice, goal, or event but 26. eustress result of positive conditions, include life
avoidance outcome could have both positive and negative events
elements
27. exercise strong stress management tool, increases
9. autonomic relates to emotion, specific physiological rxns mood nc endorphins
nervous are assc. with specific emotions.
28. exhaustion body can no longer maintain an elevated
system
response with SNS activity
10. avoidance choose between two negative choices
29. frustration occurs when attaining goal is prevented
avoidance
stressors
11. behavioral withdrawing from others, difficulties at
30. general seq of physio responses, three stages: alarm,
response work/school, drugs, aggression, suicide. chronic
adaptation resistance, exhaustion
to stress stress leads to mental health disorders
syndrome
(depression/anxiety)
31. hippocampus within temporal lobe, creates LT memories.
12. behavior facial expression, body language
aids in creating context for stimuli to lead to
response
an emotional experience. storage of
13. Cannon- cognitive and physiological components of emotional memories are key in producing
Bard emotion occur simultaneously and result in emotional response. controls explicit mem
theory behavioral component of emotion/action (I'm (emotional memories)
afraid bc I see a snake and my heart is racing, let
me out)
14. cognitive subjective evaluation of situation that induces
appraisal stress, 2 stagesL primary and secondary
of stress
32. hypothalamus located below thalamus, synthesizes and 48. secondary directed at evaluating whether the organism
releases variety of NTs. homeostatic fxns, appraisal can cope with the stress, eval 3 things: harm
modulates emotion. largely dictates (damage caused by event), threat (potential
emotional states thru controlling NTs that for future damage), challenge (potential to
effect mood/arounsal overcome/benefit from event)
33. James-Lange stimulus results first in physiological arousal, 49. social stress level can be measured in "life change
theory of which leads to secondary response in which readjustment units"
emotion emotion is labeled. (I must be angry because rating scale
my skin is hot and my BP is high) 50. stress response to challenging events, physical,
34. limbic system complex set of structures that reside below emotional, cog, or behavioral
cerebrum on either side of thalamus. system 51. stressor biological event, external condition or event
made up of amygdala, thalamus, that leads to stress resp
hypothalamus, hippocampus, fornix, septal
nuclei, and parts of cerebral cortez 52. thalamus prelim sensory processing station, routes info
to cortex and other areas.
35. physiological skin temp, heart rate, breathing rate, BP,
markers of heart rate variability, blood pulse volume, 53. universal emotions and corresponding expressions are
emotion diastolic BP emotions universal (darwin said emotions are
evolutionary)
36. physiological changes in heart rate, breathing rate, skin
response temp, BP 54. ventral connects with regions of the brain
prefrontal responsible for experiencing emotion
37. physiological sympathetic nervous system responds cortex
response to initially - inc heart rate, dec digestion
stress 55. ventromedial thought to play substantial role in decision
prefrontal making and controlling emotional responses
38. predictability people who cannot predict their daily cortex from amygdala
stressors scenarios are more stressed
39. prefrontal anterior portion of frontal lobes assc. with
cortex planning intricate cog fxns, expressing
personality, making decisions. recieves
arousal input from the brain stem
coordinating arousal and cognitive states.
left = positive emotions, right = negative
emotions
40. pressure experienced when expectations or demands
stressors are put in place from external source
41. primary initial eval of enviro and assc. threat. can be
appraisal identified as irrelevant, benign-positive, or
stressful. if threat, then secondary
42. problem involve working to overcome stressor -
focused social support, confronting issue head on
strategy
43. psychological pressure, control, predictability, frustration,
stressors (5) conflict
44. reappraisal this is what situations that require ongoing
monitoring need
45. relaxation meditation, diaphragmatic breathing,
techniques (3) progressive muscle relaxation reduce stress
46. resistance continuous release of hormones allows SNS
to remain engaged to fight stressor
47. Schachter- cognitive arousal theory, 2 factor theory,
Singer theory both arousal and labeling of arousal based
on environment must occur in order for
emotion to be experienced (I am excited
because my heart is racing and everyone
else is happy)