Session 290

MCAT Success is all about the thought process! Today we review the Psych/Soc Discrete 2 from Blueprint’s FREE half-length diagnostic. We’re joined by Ali from Blueprint MCAT. If you would like to follow along on YouTube, go to premed.tv.

Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points.

[02:16]

The ultimate goal of doing well on the MCAT is remembering that you can probably get a lot of points just by the thought process. You have to get to the correct thought process to get to the right answer. That’s the goal.

Here, we are finishing up with the psych/soc section and doing our last set of discrete questions. Get this half-length diagnostic for free at Blueprint MCAT. by signing up for a free account.

[03:19] Question 28

Students investigating Weber’s law notice that one student is just able to perceive that a black, circular dot on a sheet of paper is larger than another dot when the first dot is 100 mm across and the second is 115 mm across. If the same student is presented with a black, circular dot that is 50 mm across, which of the following is the diameter of a dot that the student would just be able to perceive as being larger?

A.35 mm

B.42.5 mm

C.57.5 mm

D.65 mm

Thought Process:

50% of 100 is 50. And 50% of 115 is 57.5. Hence, it’s the correct answer. Ali warns students of being careful with answering questions making sure they’re not thinking too fast or forgetting part of the equation. Since the AAMC can be good at including those in the questions.

Correct Answer: C

[05:48] Question 29

Which of the following would NOT qualify as negative reinforcement?

1. A parent wants to get her daughter to wash the dishes and says she will take her for ice cream if she washes the dishes.
2. A parent wants to get his son to stop playing video games right after school and says that he will make his son mow the lawn on the weekend if the son continues to play video games right after school.

III. A researcher wants to teach rats to press a lever so each time the rats press the lever, a loud irritating alarm bell is shut off for a few minutes.

A.I only

B.I and II only

C.III only

D.I, II, and III

Thought Process:

Negative reinforcement is where you’re taking away something to reinforce the behavior. Remember that is a NOT question so the correct answer is the opposite to negative reinforcement.

III is a negative reinforcement, which means it’s not the right answer since we’re looking for NOT a negative reinforcement. And we see that I and II are not negative reinforcements so B is the correct answer.

Correct Answer: B

[09:15] Question 30

Disulfiram is a common drug used to treat alcoholism by inhibiting the body’s ability to process acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde builds up if alcohol is ingested, resulting in flushing, nausea, and discomfort. This kind of treatment is an example of:

A.operant extinction.

B.a conditioned stimulus.

C.aversive conditioning.

D.social cues.

Thought Process:

Answer choice C is the correct answer and the red herring here is actually B because the question is about an unconditioned stimulus and not a conditioned stimulus.

Aversive conditioning is a type of classical conditioning where we want to avoid something. The job of this chemical is to give us flushing, nausea, and discomfort. That’s the unconditioned stimulus. They didn’t have to condition us for this. But every time, we’re given this drug, this is what the drug does. It’s unconditioned. And it needs training for us to feel this way after taking the drug. Hence, C is the correct answer.

Now, the conditioned stimulus here would be alcohol. Let’s say, you’re doing this for a few weeks, and every time you see the alcohol, you feel nauseated in response to the drug transfers to the alcohol. And that’s the conditioning you’re doing. So the alcohol now makes you feel nauseous. And so, answer choice B applies to the alcohol, not the drug.

Social cues refer to the nonverbal cues that we use in communication, like facial expression or body language. They are more like symbolic interactions.

Correct Answer: C

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