MCAT Psych/Soc study plan
MCAT Psych/Soc · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Foundational Concept 7: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence behavior and behavior change
Diagram the divisions of the nervous system and label the function of each major brain structure relevant to behavior
Distinguish classical from operant conditioning by generating original examples of each, including schedules of reinforcement
Compare encoding, storage, and retrieval in memory and identify the brain structures implicated in each
Explain how neurotransmitter activity underlies at least three classes of psychoactive drug effects
Your checkpoint
One-page annotated nervous-system diagram plus 30 self-written flashcards on learning and memory; score at least 80% on a 20-question Domain 7 quiz.
Foundational Concept 7: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence behavior and behavior change
Trace the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and describe the physiological cascade of the stress response
Contrast James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and Schachter-Singer theories of emotion using original scenarios
Apply the health belief model and the stages-of-change model to a hypothetical behavior-change case
Differentiate intrinsic from extrinsic motivation and predict how each affects persistence and performance
Your checkpoint
A 400-word written case analysis applying a behavior-change model to a smoking-cessation scenario, plus a comparison table of emotion theories.
Foundational Concept 6: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence how we sense and perceive the world and respond to it
Map the stimulus-to-cortex pathway for vision, audition, and at least two somatosensory modalities
Apply signal detection theory to separate sensitivity from response bias in detection tasks
Explain Gestalt grouping principles and monocular and binocular depth cues using everyday examples
Distinguish bottom-up from top-down processing and predict where specific perceptual illusions arise
Your checkpoint
Labeled sensory pathway diagrams for three modalities plus a 25-question quiz with a written error log for every missed item.
Foundational Concept 6: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence how we sense and perceive the world and respond to it & Foundational Concept 7: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence behavior and behavior change
Explain how attention and perception shape which information enters memory
Connect sleep stages and circadian rhythms to learning, mood, and behavior
Identify research-design features such as blinding, control groups, and randomization in perception and behavior studies
Your checkpoint
Timed 40-question mixed Domain 6 and 7 section with a written error analysis of each missed item.
Foundational Concept 8: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence how we think about ourselves and others
Distinguish self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy and give an example of each shaping behavior
Compare attribution theories and identify the fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias in vignettes
Explain attitude formation and change, including cognitive dissonance and the elaboration likelihood model
Separate stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination as distinct constructs and trace their cognitive roots
Your checkpoint
A vignette workbook of 15 original scenarios labeled with the correct social-cognitive concept, scoring at least 13 of 15 correct.
Foundational Concept 8: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence how we think about ourselves and others & Foundational Concept 9: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence how we understand social stratification and access to resources
Explain how culture and socialization shape identity formation using Erikson, Marcia, and social identity theory
Compare functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist accounts of social stratification
Define socioeconomic status components and distinguish types of social mobility
Predict how group membership and in-group bias influence judgments about others
Your checkpoint
Comparative table of three stratification theories with MCAT-style application examples, plus 20 practice questions scored and reviewed.
Foundational Concept 9: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence how we understand social stratification and access to resources
Distinguish absolute from relative poverty and describe how each is measured
Explain how race, ethnicity, gender, and class intersect to shape access to education and health care
Interpret demographic transition theory and its implications for population health
Describe mechanisms producing health disparities, including access, environment, bias, and chronic stress
Your checkpoint
Two-page concept map linking stratification constructs to health and education outcomes, plus a 20-question quiz with corrections.
Foundational Concept 6: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence how we sense and perceive the world and respond to it & Foundational Concept 7: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence behavior and behavior change & Foundational Concept 8: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence how we think about ourselves and others & Foundational Concept 9: biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence how we understand social stratification and access to resources
Synthesize a cross-domain explanation for one behavior using biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors together
Audit the accumulated error log and re-drill the concepts with the highest miss rates
Complete a timed full-length Psych/Soc section under test-day conditions
Condense the highest-yield ideas into a personal review sheet written in your own words
Your checkpoint
One full-length timed Psych/Soc section plus a one-page final-review sheet covering the 20 ideas you most often missed.
Milestones
Week 2: Recall all Domain 7 learning and memory flashcards at 85% or better in a self-test, and state the difference between classical and operant conditioning in a single written sentence.
Week 4: Score at least 70% on a timed 40-question mixed Domain 6 and 7 set and explain every missed concept aloud without notes.
Week 6: Score at least 70% on a timed 30-question mixed Domain 8 and 9 set and present one theory from each domain in under two minutes each.
Week 8: Score at least 75% on a full-length timed Psych/Soc section with all four domains represented, and name the three concepts most often missed along with the reason for each error.