Guide to MCAT Behavioral Sciences
MCAT Self Prep has offered five tips for mastering the Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section of the exam. The guidance aims to help students prepare for the behavioral sciences portion without becoming overwhelmed. This section has crossover relevance for the reasoning skills tested in the CARS section.
The Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section was added to the MCAT in 2015 to better prepare students for the socio-cultural and behavioral aspects of modern medicine. This section consists of 59 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 95 minutes. According to former AAMC president and CEO, Dr. Darrell G. Kirch, the inclusion of this section is because "Being a good doctor is about more than scientific knowledge. It also requires an understanding of people." The goal is to better equip future physicians with a strong knowledge of the socio-cultural and behavioral determinants of health. The content of this section is approximately 65% introductory psychology, 30% introductory sociology, and 5% introductory biology. It is designed to test concepts that provide a foundation for learning about the behavioral and sociocultural determinants of health in medical school. Test-takers can expect to be assessed on their understanding of how psychological, social, and biological factors influence perceptions, reactions to the world, and behavior change. Key sociological theories frequently tested include structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Commonly tested psychological concepts include Piaget's stages of cognitive development and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This section assesses scientific inquiry and reasoning skills by asking test-takers to analyze and apply information from social sciences and humanities disciplines. The average score for medical school matriculants in the 2023-24 cycle for this section was 128.9, the highest among the four MCAT sections.
