States of Consciousness

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