Consciousness

Consciousness and Its Altered States

January 29, 2013

OBJECTIVES• At the end of the discussion about

Consciousness you are expected to:

COGNITIVE:define consciousness in your own

wordsexamine critically one’s

consciousness

AFFECTIVE find pleasure in studying the

consciousness of human beings

PSYCHOMOTOR draw-out conclusions based on

the given facts about human consciousness

Definition and Brief History of Consciousness

Consciousness is a state of

awareness of the outside

world, of our own thoughts and feelings

William James

• One of the earliest Psychologists who dealt with consciousness

Established the first laboratory of experimental Psychology in Harvard University

Believes that our everyday conscious experience is only one of the possible forms of consciousness

He argued that there are uncharted regions of human consciousness that can be explored by studying mental illnesses, dreams and drug use

INTROSPECTIONExamination of

one’s own thoughts and feelings

Objective description of one’s experiences

What does it mean to be conscious?

Normal Waking Consciousness

Directed Consciousness

•Our conscious experience is focused, ordered and one-tracked

Flowing Consciousness

•When our awareness drifts from one thought to another

Daydreaming

• This is the period of focused, directed thinking and feeling about fantasies

Daydreams include fantasies about ordinary, everyday things as well as extravagant flights of fancy (Klinger,1987)

Daydreams add color and intrigue to our lives, making them more exciting.

Advantages and Uses of daydreams

Daydreams help make our life more creative and original

Use the past to explore the future

Help develop your personality

Divided Consciousness

• Characterized by splitting of two conscious activities that occur simultaneously, performing two activities at the same time

Consciousness and

Attention

Selective Attention

•The cognitive mental process that limits the amount of information into consciousness

Attention•William James referred to this as

the means by which we can scan the environment and select only stimuli to which we respond while ignoring other stimuli

Subconscious Mental Activity

Subconscious processes are mental or behavioral activities that take place

outside of conscious awareness

Are those subconscious activities that can be

brought into awareness by paying attention

Preconscious Processes

Unconscious Process

Are those subconscious mental activities that are more or less

permanently unavailable to consciousness

Altered States of Consciousness

MeditationA popular exercise and an important part of yoga and other religious practices of Buddhism and other Asian

religions

Simplest form involves assuming

a relaxed sitting position or lying

position and breathing deeply,

slowly, and rhythmically

• In some forms of meditation, the individual repeats a

sound or word silently to himself or herself – these

words which have religious meanings are known as

mantras

Goal of Meditation

Transcendental State achieving a desirable

altered state of consciousness

Effects of Meditation

POSITIVE Has effect on personality,

performance and perception

provides evidence for enhanced creativity, perceptual sensitivity, self-actualization, self-control and satisfaction in life

Elicits significant physiological effects– Heart rate drops during

meditation– Blood pressure falls on

regular practice

Can be therapeutic for various psychological and psychosomatic disorders like anxiety, phobia, post-traumatic stress disorders, mild depression, etc.

NEGATIVE Psychological difficulties at any

stage specifically for beginners – episodes of anxiety and depression and even psychotic breaks particularly for those with history of previous psychosis may surface according to some experts

Hypnosis

Is a psychological state, induced by ritualistic procedure in which the subject experiences changes

in perception, memory and behavior in response to

suggestions by the hypnotist

Characteristics1. A sense of deep relaxation

and peacefulness exists

2. A hypnotized person experiences hypnotic hallucinations

3. When told to do so, the subject may experience hypnotic analgesia, that is, the subject may lose the sense of touch or pain in some regions of the body

4. The subject can sometimes be made to feel that he or she is going back in time to an earlier stage of life, such as childhood

5. The actions of hypnotized individual sometimes seem as if they are out of individual’s control

Depersonalization• Refers to the perceptual experience of

one’s body becoming “distorted” or “unreal”• It includes the illusion that the mind has

left the body and traveled about in a so called “out-of-body experience” or “astral projection”

Altering Consciousness With

Drugs

Psychoactive Drugs

Drugs that alter conscious

experience . They have

powerful effects and can be very

addictive.

TYPES

A. StimulantsDrugs that increase the

activity of the CNS – providing a sense of energy and well-being

Often they are called uppers

Examples

• Caffeine – coffee, tea, soft drinks• Nicotine – cigarettes and other

tobacco products

HEALTH RISK• Abnormal heart rhythms, anxiety,

insomnia

• Amphetamines – stimulant drugs that generally produce a conscious sense of increased energy, alertness, enthusiasm, and a euphoria

Amphetamine Psychosis

A prolonged reaction to excessive use of stimulants characterized by distorted thinking, confused and rapidly changing emotions

and intense suspiciousness

• Cocaine – made from the leaves of coca plants–Commonly inhaled as powder or

smoked in the dangerously powerful form known as crack and the poor man’s cocaine known as shabu–Repeated use often causes a paranoid

suspiciousness

B. Narcotics• Are powerful and highly

addictive depressants

• Examples: Heroin , opium – relieve pain and induce a sudden rushing high, followed by a relaxed lethargic drowsiness

C. Depressants

•Are a large class of psychoactive drugs that influence conscious experience by depressing parts of the CNS

Examples

• Alcohol – most widely abused drug to which most individuals are physiologically addicted- psychotropic drug in liquid form

Effects• Works principally as a depressant,

though it stimulates sociability and exuberant activity• It impairs visual judgment and motor

control and induces sleepiness• It worsens negative moods,

particularly deepening depression

• Sedatives - Often called downers, are depressants that in mild doses generally produce a state of calm relaxation• Prescribe to aid sleep and

sometimes to combat anxiety

• Tranquilizers - Milder drugs that are similar to sedatives

• They produce a sense of

calm relaxation for a brief period of time

D. Hallucinogens• Sometimes called psychedelics• These drugs alter perceptual

experiences, but only large doses cause vivid hallucinations• Examples are Mescaline, Lysergic

acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin

Other Drugs•Marijuana – produces a sense of

relaxation and well-being

–Prolonged use decreases the efficiency of cognitive process, weakens the body immune system, decreases the action of male hormones and increases risk of lung cancer

• Inhalants – substances that when inhaled produce a sense of intoxication–Toxic (poisonous) substances are

glue, paint, etc.–These toxic fumes often cause

permanent damage and other serious complications