Best content review books for psychology/sociology section?

[UnicornDemon]

Is there any consensus on which company has produced the greatest book for reviewing content for the section of the MCAT titled "Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior?" I know next to none of the material needed for this section.

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[allantois]

Khan

 

[deleted244469]

I've been reading TPR has a good book for it, so I went ahead and purchased it. We shall see. The 3 FL online exams made the book worth purchasing!

 

[mcatjelly]

I've been liking my TPR, though Kaplan is good as well.

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

@kovalchuk71 I had the exact same thought process and I'm liking the TPR book so far. Clear, diagrams, definitions, questions within the chapters to check understanding, etc.

I should be reading the next chapter of that rather than reading SDN on my phone.

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

Combo of Khan & Kaplan

 

[deleted244469]

@kovalchuk71 I had the exact same thought process and I'm liking the TPR book so far. Clear, diagrams, definitions, questions within the chapters to check understanding, etc.

I should be reading the next chapter of that rather than reading SDN on my phone.

I was also a Psych major in school, so I'm not INCREDIBLY worried about this section. It's good to hear more solid review about it, though.

 

[daftypatty]

I was also a Psych major in school, so I'm not INCREDIBLY worried about this section. It's good to hear more solid review about it, though.

Have you guys had a chance to look at the kaplan psych books as well? I'm wondering whether TPR or Kaplan is a better review material.

 

[exodian1]

Used EK to get basic understanding of the material. Have been supplementing with Khan and just started using TPR.

 

[mcatjelly]

Have you guys had a chance to look at the kaplan psych books as well? I'm wondering whether TPR or Kaplan is a better review material.

Kaplan's Behavioral Sciences book really isn't that bad.

 

[California Bear]

I haven't started studying yet, but what's the general consensus on EK 9th edition for psych/sociology? Would it be worth supplementing it with another book?

 

[mcatjelly]

I haven't started studying yet, but what's the general consensus on EK 9th edition for psych/sociology? Would it be worth supplementing it with another book?

I'm sure their next edition will be much better, but their first edition is no bueno. They apparently published their books before AAMC updated the outline so their Psych/Socio book is missing a TON of key terms. It's not bad, just very incomplete, though you could just supplement with a textbook or online resource vs. another prep book.

 

[TheAnonymous]

@mcatjelly would you say TPR is complete? Or is it missing any topics or contains unnecessary details? I'm enjoying TPR psyc so far and I was hoping if supplementing it by watching all Khan videos + passages would be sufficient? Thanks for your help though.

 

[mcatjelly]

@mcatjelly would you say TPR is complete? Or is it missing any topics or contains unnecessary details? I'm enjoying TPR psyc so far and I was hoping if supplementing it by watching all Khan videos + passages would be sufficient? Thanks for your help though.

TPR is pretty complete, yeah, just make sure you download their addenda for chapters 7 and 8 from your online dashboard. They rewrote those chapters to add more material.

 

[TheAnonymous]

TPR is pretty complete, yeah, just make sure you download their addenda for chapters 7 and 8 from your online dashboard. They rewrote those chapters to add more material.

Oh, I did not know that. Thanks a lot. I was finishing up chapter 6 today, perfect timing haha.

As for practice materials for this section, would you say EK 30 min exams are worth doing? I was thinking of those + NextStep discrete Qs in their content review book + NextStep Strategy book + hopefully if I get access to TPR new science workbook.

 

[mcatjelly]

Oh, I did not know that. Thanks a lot. I was finishing up chapter 6 today, perfect timing haha.

As for practice materials for this section, would you say EK 30 min exams are worth doing? I was thinking of those + NextStep discrete Qs in their content review book + NextStep Strategy book + hopefully if I get access to TPR new science workbook.

Definitely. I'm a fan of their 30 min exams.

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

TPR is pretty complete, yeah, just make sure you download their addenda for chapters 7 and 8 from your online dashboard. They rewrote those chapters to add more material.

That's good to know, had no idea about that! Just finished chapter 4 in that book today.

Something in it was really confusing though. They said there are four stages of sleep and the diagram showed the cycles of stages 1-4 plus REM but all their descriptions only covered 3 stages. It was weird. Might consult a textbook to be sure I'm clear on this as it's def on the outline.

 

[TheAnonymous]

That's good to know, had no idea about that! Just finished chapter 4 in that book today.

Something in it was really confusing though. They said there are four stages of sleep and the diagram showed the cycles of stages 1-4 plus REM but all their descriptions only covered 3 stages. It was weird. Might consult a textbook to be sure I'm clear on this as it's def on the outline.

Thanks for pointing it out.

I'm personally going to take detailed notes from my TPR psyc book and all Khan videos on this section and have everything memorized. I think that should cover like 80% of the stuff. Then go through the AAMC outline, making sure I know each of those topics, and do a google/youtube search for the ones I'm shaky on and add those to my initial notes and go through my notes a few times. I was initially planning to read Kaplan and EK as well (instead of taking any notes) but I think sticking with 1 book + AAMC outline is more efficient.

For practice materials for psyc, I will do all Khan passages, all discrete qeustions from NS, all passages in the NS strategy book, all 30min EK exams, and (hopefully) the new TPR workbook. And of course, a few full lengths out there as well as all AAMC materials.

Hopefully that is a good approach. I would appreciate any advice

 

[mcatjelly]

That's good to know, had no idea about that! Just finished chapter 4 in that book today.

Something in it was really confusing though. They said there are four stages of sleep and the diagram showed the cycles of stages 1-4 plus REM but all their descriptions only covered 3 stages. It was weird. Might consult a textbook to be sure I'm clear on this as it's def on the outline.

You sure? I just looked at my TPR book and they describe the 4 stages of sleep (including REM), and on diagram there's the awake state, stages 1-3, and then REM.

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

I'll check again when I get home and maybe take a pic of what I'm talking about.

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

Okay, here it is. On page 100, there is a diagram that shows the sleep schedule. It shows going from stage 1 to stage 2 to stage 3 to stage 4 then back up to 3, then 2, then 1, then REM. It says the same thing in words on page 99. But on page 98, it only describes stages 1, 2, 3 and REM. At first I thought that stage 4 and REM might be the same thing, but from the diagram on 100 and the description on 99 are showing them as two different stages that happen at different times.

It's pretty picky, but I'm such a details person.

I will probably borrow a psych book to confirm things like this that contuse me from the TPR book.

Overall, though, I've found it really readable. I'm probably going to make notecards for all the vocab. One of the nice things is the glossary in this book also includes the researchers and people we need to know.

And once I'm done, I'll def compare with the outline and see what I'm missing or still unclear on.

 

[mcatjelly]

Okay, here it is. On page 100, there is a diagram that shows the sleep schedule. It shows going from stage 1 to stage 2 to stage 3 to stage 4 then back up to 3, then 2, then 1, then REM. It says the same thing in words on page 99. But on page 98, it only describes stages 1, 2, 3 and REM. At first I thought that stage 4 and REM might be the same thing, but from the diagram on 100 and the description on 99 are showing them as two different stages that happen at different times.

It's pretty picky, but I'm such a details person.

I will probably borrow a psych book to confirm things like this that contuse me from the TPR book.

Overall, though, I've found it really readable. I'm probably going to make notecards for all the vocab. One of the nice things is the glossary in this book also includes the researchers and people we need to know.

And once I'm done, I'll def compare with the outline and see what I'm missing or still unclear on.

Ah, you're correct. They lumped Stages 3 and 4 together--not sure if it was purposeful or neglectful on their part. Good catch!

 

[Jelly Bones]

Ah, you're correct. They lumped Stages 3 and 4 together--not sure if it was purposeful or neglectful on their part. Good catch!

Yeah I noticed that too while studying and was a bit confused since they don't explicitly mention it... Apparently, stages 3/4 are very similar so considered the same as I read in the medschooltutors extended outline:

http://www.medschooltutors.com/mcat...-making-sense-of-the-environment-part-1#sleep

Personally I felt the TPR book was good but it is missing some things in the AAMC content outline (few topics in perception, several theories in different sections). I would recommend going through the medschooltutor outline (whatever they have so far) and watch the khan videos that go with it to fill in the gaps. Hopefully they finish that extended outline soon.

I feel most prep companies are lacking with giving real-life examples of theories since some of them are so similar and confusing. Also, unfortunately there aren't enough practice materials to get a hang of the knowledge. I did some Khan passages and I find they're good for critical analysis but sometimes contradictory to what is said in the videos when it comes to factual questions. I'm going to check out the NS strategy book and EK 30min exams, hopefully they're more reliable.

 

[exodian1]

Ah, you're correct. They lumped Stages 3 and 4 together--not sure if it was purposeful or neglectful on their part. Good catch!

Both EK and Medschooltutors say there are 4 stages of sleep so I'm assuming thats correct. TPR might just have lumped them together. However, I also found another deviance between books. TPR says Stage 1 produces theta waves while alpha waves are produced when the person is sleepy/relaxed but still awake. Both EK and Medschooltutors mentions that alpha waves are produced in stage 1. EK doesn't even talk about theta waves but Medschooltutors says that theta waves are produced in stage 2. Lol I'm so confused between which one is correct. I think I'm just gonna go with Medschooltutors version on this one. I'll also see what Khan has to say about this.

 

[mcatjelly]

Both EK and Medschooltutors say there are 4 stages of sleep so I'm assuming thats correct. TPR might just have lumped them together. However, I also found another deviance between books. TPR says Stage 1 produces theta waves while alpha waves are produced when the person is sleepy/relaxed but still awake. Both EK and Medschooltutors mentions that alpha waves are produced in stage 1. EK doesn't even talk about theta waves but Medschooltutors says that theta waves are produced in stage 2. Lol I'm so confused between which one is correct. I think I'm just gonna go with Medschooltutors version on this one. I'll also see what Khan has to say about this.

After reviewing a bunch of other sources, stages 3-4 of sleep are so similar that they're commonly lumped together and collectively referred to as "deep sleep". And a similar situation with sleepy relaxation vs. stage 1: the transition is subtle as theta waves are just slower in frequency and greater in amplitude than alpha waves. And theta waves are still expressed in stage 2. Stages 1-2 are "light sleep".

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

Cool. I still might borrow a psych textbook from someone I know who isn't taking the MCAT till next year and has offered for me to borrow his psych book, just to use as a reference for things like this.

At this point we've investigated the stages of sleep so much I think we'll all remember it!