STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS By: Jenna Goodrich AP Psychology 2009
Jan 17, 2016
STATES OF CONSCIOUSNE
SS
By: Jenna Goodrich
AP Psychology 2009
WAKING CONSCIOUSNESS Consciousness– our awareness of
ourselves and our environment
WAKING CONSCIOUSNESS
We register and react to stimuli that we do not consciously perceive
Unlike the parallel processing of subconscious information, conscious processing takes place in sequence
DAYDREAMS AND FANTASIES
Daydreaming can be adaptive
HOW ARE DAYDREAMS ADAPTIVE?
Some daydreams prepare us for future events
Playful fantasies enhance the creativity of scientists, writers and artists
For children, the daydreaming of imaginative play nourishes social and cognitive development
SLEEP AND DREAMSBiological Rhythms
-periodic physiological fluctuations
-annual cycles– bears hibernate-28-day cycles– female menstrual cycle
-24 hour cycles– varying and falling alertness
-90 minute cycles- various stages of sleep
THE RHYTHM OF SLEEP Circadian Rhythm– the biological clock;
regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle
Thinking is sharpest and memory most accurate when we are at their daily peak in circadian arousal
SLEEP STAGES About every 90-100 minutes we pass
through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages.
REM sleep– rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep because
the muscles are relaxed but other body systems are active
SLEEP Alpha waves– the relatively slow brain
waves of a relaxed, awake state
Sleep– periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness– as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation
STAGE 1 SLEEP Lasts up to 5 minutes During stage one sleep you may
experience hallucinationsHallucinations- false sensory experiences,
such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
STAGE 2 SLEEP About 20 minutes long Characterized by the periodic
appearance of sleep spindles– bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity
SLEEP STAGES First in stage 3 and increasingly in stage
4, your brain emits delta waves Delta waves– the large, slow brain waves
associated with deep sleep These stages together are called slow-wave
sleep
WHY DO WE SLEEP? Sleep Deprivation Effects
Major effect of lessened sleep in not only sleepiness but a general malaise
Less sleep= more accidentsMore sleep= less accidents
WHY DO WE SLEEP? Other effects of sleep loss are subtle
Suppression of the immune system, altering of the metabolic and hormonal functioning, irritability, slowed performance, and impaired communication, concentration, and creativity.
WHY DO WE SLEEP?
Sleep Functions
Sleep protectsSleep helps us recuperateSleep may also play a role in the growth
process During deep sleep, the pituitary gland releases a
growth hormone
SLEEP DISORDERS Insomnia
Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep
SLEEP DISORDERS Narcolepsy
A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks.
The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.
SLEEP DISORDERS Sleep Apnea
A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and consequent momentary reawakening
SLEEP DISORDERS Night Terrors
A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified.
Unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during stage 4 sleep, within 2 or 3 hours of falling asleep and are seldom remembered. Occur mostly in children
DREAMS REM dreams
“hallucinations of the sleeping mind”Are vivid, emotional, and bizarre
DREAMS Dreams
A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind.
Dreams are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, and for the dreamer’s delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it. Freud argued that by fulfilling wishes, a dream
provides a psychic safety value that discharges otherwise unacceptable feelings.
DREAMS Manifest content
According to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream
A dreamer’s manifest content is a censored, symbolic version of its latent content
Latent Content According to Freud, the underlying meaning of a
dream.Freud believed that a dream’s latent content
functions as a safety value
DREAMS Dreams may also serve a physiological
functionProvide the sleeping brain with periodic
stimulationActivation-Synthesis Theory
this neural activity is random, and dreams are the brain’s attempt to make sense of it
DREAMS REM rebound
The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation
HYPNOSIS Hypnosis
A social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.
HYPNOSIS Posthypnotic Amnesia
Supposed inability to recall what one experienced during hypnosis Induced by the hypnotist’s suggestion
HYPNOSIS: FACT AND FALSEHOODS
Nearly everyone can experience hypnosis.
60 years of research dispute the claims of age regression.
Hypnosis can NOT force someone to act against their will.
Behaviors produced through hypnotic procedures can also be produced without them
HYPNOSIS: FACT AND FALSEHOODS Can hypnosis be therapeutic?
Posthypnotic Suggestion A suggestion, made during a hypnotic session, to
be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized.Used by some clinicians to help control
undesired symptoms and behaviors.
Can Hypnosis Alleviate pain? YES!.. Dissociation- a split in consciousness,
which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.
Selective attention- an injured athlete, caught up in the competition, feels little or no pain until the game ends.
HYPNOSIS: AN ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS? Hypnosis as divided consciousness:
Most hypnosis researchers grant that normal social and cognitive processes play a part in hypnosis, but they nevertheless believe hypnosis is more than imaginative acting
Hidden observer Hilgard’s term describing a hypnotized student’s
awareness of experiences, such as pain, that go unreported during hypnosis.
DRUGS AND CONSCIOUSNESS
Psychoactive drugA chemical substance that alters
perceptions and moods Tolerance
The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug’s effect
Withdrawal The discomfort and distress that follow
discontinuing the use of an addictive drug
DRUGS AND CONSCIOUSNESS
Physical dependenceA physiological need for a drug, marked by
unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued
Psychological dependenceA psychological need to use a drug, such as
to relieve negative emotions
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS Depressants
Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow bodily functions Ex: alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS Barbiturates
Drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system and reduce anxiety and impair memory and judgment.
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS Opiates
Opium and its derivatives such as morphine and heroin
They depress neural activity and temporarily lessen pain and anxiety
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS Stimulants
Drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions Ex: caffeine, nicotine, and powerful
amphetamines
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS Amphetamines
Drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing sped-up body functions, associated energy and mood changes
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS Ecstasy (MDMA)
A synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogenProduces euphoria and social intimacy, but
with short-term health risks and longer- term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS Hallucinogens
Psychedelic (“mind-manifesting”) drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input Ex: LSD
A powerful hallucinogen drug (also known as acid)
INFLUENCES ON DRUG USE
Biological influencesSome people may be biologically vulnerable
to alcohol
INFLUENCES ON DRUG USE
Psychological and cultural influencesPsychological
The feeling that one’s life is meaningless and directionless
Social Drugs can have social roots, evident in differing
rates of drug use across cultural groupsPeers influence through words and examples
NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES
Near-death experiencesAn altered state of consciousness reported
after a close brush with deathOften similar to drug-induced hallucinations
about 1/3 of those who have survived a brush with death, such as through cardiac arrest, later recall visionary near-death experiences
NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES
DualistsThe presumption that mind and body are
two distinct entities that interact Dualists interpret near-death experiences as
evidence of human immortality
NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES
MonistsThe presumption that mind and body are
different aspects of the same thing Monists point out that reports of near-death
experiences closely parallel reports of hallucinations and may be products of a brain under stress