Psych section: Does it really test content?

[RaspberryPiranha]

If you managed to earn a successful score on this section I would greatly appreciate knowing what resources you used and how you studied.
I took the MCAT once before and studied the Kaplan book and Uworld questions in addition to AAMC resources but did not perform well.
Any resources/methods that increase performance in data interpretation and statistical reasoning would be particularly appreciated.
I’d also be interested in knowing what your experience was with this particular section of the exam (without divulging or discussing specifics of course). Did you find content review helpful? Or do you think my time will be better spent another way.. thanks for any suggestions!!

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[GoPenguinsGo]

Like the other science sections, you definitely will need content AND the ability to reason within a passage. Its no different than Chem/Phys and Bio/Biochem

 

[Blueprint Med School]

I think P/S is a lot more about just knowing the content than C/P and B/B. Whereas those sections require tons of being able to apply complex concepts, P/S is more just memorizing a bunch of definitions. I'd recommend the 100 page KA note compilation, which I think is the most comprehensive CARS resource out there right now.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[Hope143]

I have tried KAPLAN , the 100 page and Uworld! All because of uworld my score went from a 123 to 127! Love it! It was my highest score in any section (not high enough for many but made me happy and thankful)!

 

[aduuubacsi]

I took the MCAT last month and felt like P/S was more a CARS 2.0 section combining with experimental.

 

[deleted1066189]

Yes, big time. It has the most content but it's more-so terms rather than concepts, and as a result, also by far the easiest section to improve on. I scored a 131, though I probably got somewhat lucky with a high yield section. I scored 128 on FL 4.

 

[lull]

I never understood why P/S was referred to cars 2.0 when there really isn't the subjectivity you would see in cars where you're interpreting the author's thought process. I guess what makes P/S "cars like" is interpreting experimental studies and understanding figures. Section bank P/S is good for this.

 

[GreenDuck12]

PS wasn’t always considered cars 2.0. It used to be the one section of the mcat that you could feasibly memorize your way to a high score by knowing all the terms and concepts. Around 2017 PS started to change to emphasize more reasoning within the passage and nuances of language. It is considered CARS 2.0 because it now requires a very similar approach to cars with content driven passages.

Memorizing all the terms and concepts used to be sufficient for a high score. Now, knowing all the content is the baseline so that you can reason with the passages/questions.