MCAT Mapping Guide (Click here to download)

In 2015, the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) began to include the social and behavioral sciences (Section 3 Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior). Sociological content constitutes thirty percent of Section 3.  This material is organized under four Foundational Concepts with a range of subtopics known as “Content Categories.”  The four Foundational Concepts are:

• Foundational Concept 7: Biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors influence behavior and behavior change.

• Foundational Concept 8: Psychological, sociocultural, and biological factors influence the way we think about ourselves and others, as well as how we interact with others.

• Foundational Concept 9: Cultural and social differences influence well-being.

• Foundational Concept 10: Social stratification and access to resources influence well-being.

This guide links the four MCAT Foundational Concepts and Subtopics to appropriate text chapters.  It is organized in a chapter by chapter manner.  It first summarizes the main topics covered in each chapter, and then shows the relevant MCAT topics below the summary.  Each chapter entry also contains resources that allow students to understand and explore specific topic areas in more detail.  These resources include tutorials, graphics, fact sheets, news, and journal articles.  Some of these resources fill in material that a chapter covers only briefly but that the MCAT includes in the Content Category area. Many of the resources make explicit connections to health.