MAP The Section at a Glance
- 59 questions, 95 min. Mostly psychology (~65%) and sociology (~30%), plus a little biology of behavior.
- This is the vocabulary section — success = recognizing named theories/terms fast and applying them to a scenario.
Strategy: most questions test a definition wrapped in a scenario. Learn the distinction between look-alike terms (e.g., assimilation vs accommodation), not just the words.
Watch traps: classical vs operant conditioning; sensation vs perception; stereotype/prejudice/discrimination (belief vs attitude vs action).
PSY-1 Sensation, Perception & Cognition
Sensation vs Perception
- Sensation: transduction of stimulus to neural signal.
- Perception: brain's organization/interpretation.
- Absolute threshold: min. detectable 50% of the time. JND / Weber's law: difference is a constant ratio.
- Signal detection: hits/misses/false alarms; influenced by expectation.
Processing & Gestalt
- Bottom-up (data-driven) vs top-down (expectation-driven).
- Gestalt: proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, figure-ground.
Memory
- Sensory → short-term/working (~7±2, Miller) → long-term.
- Long-term types: explicit/declarative (episodic = events, semantic = facts) and implicit (procedural = skills, conditioning).
- Encoding: elaborative > shallow. Retrieval cues, priming, context/state dependence.
- Forgetting: decay, interference (pro-/retroactive), Ebbinghaus curve.
Cognition & Intelligence
- Piaget: sensorimotor → preoperational → concrete → formal operational. Assimilation (fit to schema) vs accommodation (change schema).
- Problem-solving: algorithms, heuristics (availability, representativeness), biases (confirmation, anchoring).
- Intelligence: g factor; fluid vs crystallized.
Consciousness
- EEG stages: awake beta (alert) → alpha (relaxed) → N1 theta → N2 theta + spindles/K-complexes → N3 delta (deep, slow-wave) → REM (beta-like "paradoxical," dreaming, atonia).
- Circadian rhythm ~24 h; melatonin from the pineal gland tracks darkness.
- Depressants, stimulants, opiates, hallucinogens — effects on arousal/dopamine.
Language & Emotion
- Whorf (linguistic relativity); Broca (production) vs Wernicke (comprehension).
- Emotion theories → Fig 1. Components: physiological, behavioral, cognitive.
Fig 1. Theories of emotion differ in ordering. James–Lange: bodily arousal precedes and causes the felt emotion. Cannon–Bard: arousal and emotion occur simultaneously and independently. Schachter–Singer (two-factor): arousal is interpreted via a cognitive label. Lazarus: cognitive appraisal comes first.
PSY-2 Learning, Motivation & Personality
Conditioning
| Classical | Operant | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Pavlov | Skinner |
| Learns | stimulus–stimulus | behavior–consequence |
| Response | involuntary | voluntary |
Classical: US/UR, CS/CR, acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination.
Reinforcement
| Add (+) | Remove (−) | |
|---|---|---|
| Increase behavior | + reinforce | − reinforce |
| Decrease behavior | + punish | − punish |
Schedules: variable-ratio = most resistant to extinction. Ratio > interval, variable > fixed for response rate.
Other Learning
- Observational (Bandura, Bobo doll); latent (Tolman); insight.
Motivation
- Drive-reduction, arousal (Yerkes–Dodson optimal arousal), incentive.
- Maslow's hierarchy → Fig 2. Intrinsic vs extrinsic; overjustification effect.
Personality Theories
- Psychoanalytic (Freud): id/ego/superego; ego defense mechanisms — repression, denial, projection, displacement, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, sublimation.
- Humanistic (Rogers, Maslow): self-actualization, unconditional positive regard.
- Trait: Big Five (OCEAN).
- Social-cognitive (Bandura): reciprocal determinism, self-efficacy, locus of control.
Development
- Erikson (psychosocial, 8 stages: trust vs mistrust … integrity vs despair).
- Kohlberg (moral: preconventional → conventional → postconventional).
- Vygotsky (zone of proximal development, scaffolding).
Psychological Disorders
- Anxiety, mood (depression, bipolar), schizophrenia (positive/negative symptoms), OCD, PTSD, personality disorders.
- Biomedical vs biopsychosocial models; diathesis-stress.
Fig 2. Maslow's hierarchy of needs: physiological → safety → love/belonging → esteem → self-actualization. Lower (deficiency) needs are generally satisfied before higher (growth) needs motivate behavior, though the model is a heuristic rather than a strict sequence.
BIO Biological Basis of Behavior
Nervous System
- CNS (brain, cord) + PNS (somatic + autonomic → sympathetic "fight/flight" vs parasympathetic "rest/digest").
- Neurotransmitters: dopamine (reward/movement), serotonin (mood), GABA (inhibitory), glutamate (excitatory), ACh (muscle/memory), norepinephrine (arousal).
Brain Regions
| Region | Role |
|---|---|
| Frontal lobe | planning, personality, motor |
| Parietal | somatosensation |
| Temporal | hearing, language |
| Occipital | vision |
| Amygdala | fear/emotion |
| Hippocampus | memory formation |
| Hypothalamus | homeostasis, endocrine |
| Cerebellum | coordination/balance |
Methods & Genetics
- EEG, fMRI, PET, lesion studies.
- Nature vs nurture; heritability; twin/adoption studies.
SOC Sociology & Social Psychology
Sociological Theories
| Theory | Core idea |
|---|---|
| Functionalism | society = interdependent parts (Durkheim) |
| Conflict | competition over resources/power (Marx) |
| Symbolic interactionism | meaning from interaction (Mead) |
| Social constructionism | reality is socially built |
Social Psychology
- Attribution: dispositional vs situational; fundamental attribution error; self-serving bias.
- Conformity (Asch), obedience (Milgram), groupthink, group polarization, bystander effect, social facilitation/loafing, deindividuation.
- Attitudes: cognitive dissonance (Festinger); persuasion (central vs peripheral route, ELM).
Identity & Attribution Terms
- Stereotype (belief) → prejudice (attitude) → discrimination (action).
- In-group/out-group; ethnocentrism; stereotype threat; self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Identity: self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy; reference groups; role strain vs role conflict.
Social Structure & Institutions
- Status (ascribed vs achieved), roles, networks, organizations (bureaucracy, McDonaldization).
- Institutions: family, education, religion, government, economy, medicine.
- Culture: material vs symbolic; norms (folkways, mores, taboos), values, cultural capital.
Demography & Change
- Demographic transition; fertility/mortality/migration; population pyramids.
- Social movements, globalization, urbanization; Malthusian theory.
Stratification & Health
- Class, caste, meritocracy; social mobility (intra-/intergenerational).
- Poverty (absolute vs relative), SES gradient in health.
- Health disparities: access, incidence/prevalence, sick role (Parsons), medicalization, social epidemiology.