Psychology & Behavior for the MCAT

Sensation & Perception

• Absolute threshold: Minimum intensity detected 50% of the time
• Weber's Law: JND is proportional to stimulus magnitude
• Signal Detection Theory: Sensitivity + response bias

Learning

• Classical conditioning (Pavlov): CS + UCS → CR
• Operant conditioning (Skinner): Reinforcement ↑ behavior, Punishment ↓ behavior
• Memory: Sensory → Short-term (7±2) → Long-term

Cognition

• Broca's area: Speech production (damage → nonfluent aphasia)
• Wernicke's area: Comprehension (damage → fluent aphasia)
• Cognitive biases: confirmation bias, anchoring, framing

Motivation & Emotion

• Maslow's Hierarchy: Physiological → Safety → Belonging → Esteem → Self-actualization
• James-Lange: Event → arousal → emotion
• Schachter-Singer: Arousal + cognitive label = emotion

Development

• Piaget: Sensorimotor → Preoperational → Concrete → Formal
• Erikson: 8 psychosocial stages
• Kohlberg: Pre-conventional → Conventional → Post-conventional