Psychology RC Terms for CAT VARC
Master the essential psychology terms that unlock passages about human behavior, cognitive processes, and mental phenomena. From behaviorism to neuroplasticity, build the vocabulary foundation that transforms complex psychological texts into opportunities for excellence in CAT Reading Comprehension.
Why Psychology Terms Matter for CAT Reading Comprehension
Psychology RC passages are among the most frequently appearing themes in CAT VARC, testing your understanding of human behavior, cognitive processes, mental health, and developmental theories. These passages require familiarity with specialized vocabulary that describes complex psychological phenomena.
When you encounter terms like cognitive dissonance, operant conditioning, or neuroplasticity, you’re accessing entire frameworks of psychological understanding. Each psychology term represents decades of research and theory that explain how humans think, feel, and behave.
Analysis of past 10 years of CAT papers shows that candidates who master psychology terms achieve 20-28% higher accuracy on behavioral science passages. Why? Psychology terms provide instant comprehension. Instead of struggling to parse descriptions of experiments or theories, you immediately recognize the psychological framework and can focus on the author’s argument.
What happens when you know these terms:
- Decode research methodologies instantly, understanding experimental designs in behavioral studies
- Identify therapeutic approaches mentioned in passages about mental health and clinical psychology
- Recognize cognitive biases and heuristics discussed in decision-making passages
- Understand developmental theories that appear in passages about child psychology and learning
- Navigate neuroscience passages with confidence when brain function and behavior are discussed
- Answer application questions by connecting psychological concepts to real-world scenarios
This page contains 20 carefully curated psychology flashcards that cover the most important terms from cognitive, behavioral, developmental, and clinical psychology. Each term includes definition, memory hook, and RC context. Ready to test your mastery across all humanities subjects?
Take Humanities Diagnostic Quiz →Your Learning Progress
Track your mastery of psychology terms. Your progress is saved automatically and persists across sessions.
20 Psychology Flashcards for CAT VARC
Click any card to flip and reveal detailed RC context. Mark as mastered to track your progress. Each term includes a memory hook for retention, difficulty rating, and real-world examples of how it appears in CAT passages.
Key Thinker: Leon Festinger
Common Topics: Marketing psychology, behavior change, self-justification
Tip: Often used to explain why people rationalize poor decisions or resist new information
Key Thinker: B.F. Skinner
Applications: Education, parenting, therapy, animal training
Tip: Look for phrases like ‘reinforcement schedule,’ ‘shaping behavior,’ ‘consequences’
Key Concepts: Learning changes brain structure, recovery after stroke
Common Topics: Education, rehabilitation, lifelong learning
Tip: Often used to challenge fixed mindset about intelligence or ability
Key Concept: Top-down processing
Applications: Reading comprehension, cultural psychology, stereotyping
Tip: Look for passages about how prior knowledge influences understanding
Key Thinkers: John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth
Attachment Styles: Secure, anxious, avoidant, disorganized
Tip: Watch for discussions of early childhood experiences affecting adult relationships
Components: Planning, monitoring, evaluating own thinking
Applications: Study skills, critical thinking, self-regulation
Tip: Look for phrases like ‘aware of one’s thinking,’ ‘monitoring comprehension’
Related Concepts: Motivated reasoning, echo chambers
Common Topics: Media literacy, critical thinking, belief perseverance
Tip: Often discussed as obstacle to rational thinking and objective analysis
Key Thinker: Albert Bandura (Bobo doll experiment)
Key Concept: Observational learning, vicarious reinforcement
Tip: Look for passages about modeling, imitation, or social influence on behavior
Capacity: Limited (7±2 items)
Applications: Education, interface design, attention research
Tip: Often contrasted with long-term memory; explains why we can’t hold too much info at once
Types: Intrinsic, extraneous, germane load
Applications: Teaching methods, test design, user experience
Tip: Look for discussions of mental overload, chunking, or reducing complexity
Key Thinkers: Kahneman & Tversky
Common Types: Availability, representativeness, anchoring
Tip: Often discussed alongside biases as double-edged sword—useful but fallible
Key Components: Unconditioned/conditioned stimulus and response
Applications: Phobia treatment, advertising, taste aversions
Tip: Look for examples of learned emotional or physiological responses
Key Finding: Extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation (overjustification effect)
Applications: Gamification, incentive systems, creativity research
Tip: Watch for debates about rewards harming natural interest
Key Thinker: Albert Bandura
Impact: Predicts goal-setting, effort, persistence
Tip: Look for discussions of confidence, mastery experiences, or belief in abilities
Key Tool: Implicit Association Test (IAT)
Applications: Workplace diversity, criminal justice, healthcare disparities
Tip: Often contrasted with explicit (conscious) attitudes
Key Theories: Piaget’s stages, Erikson’s psychosocial stages
Applications: Early intervention, curriculum design, parenting guidance
Tip: Look for discussions of age-appropriate expectations and developmental delays
Components: Inhibition, shifting, updating
Development: Matures through adolescence
Tip: Look for discussions of planning, impulse control, or mental flexibility
Core Idea: Thoughts influence emotions and behaviors
Applications: Depression, anxiety, various psychological disorders
Tip: Look for discussions of thought patterns, cognitive distortions, behavioral experiments
Modern View: Epigenetics shows interaction between genes and environment
Applications: IQ debates, personality development, behavioral genetics
Tip: Most contemporary passages emphasize interaction, not either/or
Development: Emerges around age 4
Related: Perspective-taking, empathy, false belief understanding
Tip: Look for discussions of understanding others’ beliefs differ from reality or our own
💡 Study Strategy for Psychology Terms
Psychology is part of the broader Humanities cluster. Explore related subjects like Philosophy, Sociology, and Cognitive Science to build comprehensive RC vocabulary across interconnected disciplines.
Pro tip: Don’t try to memorize all 20 terms in one sitting. Research in cognitive psychology shows that spaced repetition—reviewing material at increasing intervals—leads to better long-term retention than cramming. Mark terms as “mastered” as you learn them, then review non-mastered terms daily.
Quick Mastery Quiz
Test your understanding of psychology terms. Get instant feedback with detailed explanations.
How to Master Psychology Terms for RC
🧠 The Spaced Repetition Method
Psychology terms stick when you encounter them repeatedly over time—exactly as psychological research on memory predicts. Here’s the proven approach:
- Day 1: Study the flashcards, flip each one, focus on memory hooks and real-world examples
- Day 2: Review and mark terms you remember as “mastered” (aim for at least 8-10)
- Day 4: Quick review of all terms, spending extra time on unmarked ones
- Day 7: Final comprehensive review before attempting the quiz
This spacing leverages the psychological principle of distributed practice, moving terms from working memory to long-term memory more effectively than massed practice.
📖 Context Over Definition
In RC passages, you’ll rarely see textbook definitions of psychological terms. Instead, you’ll encounter them embedded in research descriptions or theoretical discussions. Train yourself to:
- Read the “RC Context” section of each flashcard—this shows how the term appears in actual CAT-style passages
- Notice experimental language: “study found,” “research suggests,” “subjects demonstrated”
- Identify the psychological domain: Is this cognitive, behavioral, developmental, or clinical psychology?
- Connect to real examples: Link abstract terms like “cognitive dissonance” to everyday situations you’ve experienced
🎯 The “Research to Application” Strategy
Psychology passages typically follow a predictable pattern: research findings → theoretical explanation → real-world implications. Master this flow:
- Research Phase: The passage describes an experiment or study (e.g., Pavlov’s dogs demonstrating classical conditioning)
- Theory Phase: The author explains the psychological principle behind the findings
- Application Phase: How this principle applies to human behavior, therapy, or social phenomena
- RC Questions focus on: Understanding transitions between these phases and identifying which phase a statement belongs to
When you know terms like “operant conditioning,” “neuroplasticity,” and “schema theory,” you can instantly identify which phase you’re reading and anticipate what comes next.
⚡ Common RC Passage Patterns in Psychology
CAT RC psychology passages follow predictable patterns. Knowing these terms helps you identify the pattern instantly:
- “How we think” passages → Expect cognitive psychology terms: schema, heuristics, metacognition, cognitive load
- “How we learn” passages → Expect behavioral terms: conditioning, reinforcement, extinction, modeling
- “How we develop” passages → Expect developmental terms: attachment theory, stages of development, socialization
- “How we heal” passages → Expect clinical terms: therapy types, mental health conditions, therapeutic approaches
- “How brains work” passages → Expect neuroscience terms: neuroplasticity, neurotransmitters, brain regions
Pro tip: When you spot 2-3 psychology terms in the first paragraph, you know the domain (cognitive, behavioral, etc.) and can read actively, anticipating how the author will structure their argument.
