Understanding States of Consciousness

Selective attention

the state in which we are totally aware and focused on what we selected to attend to.

Divided attention

mental effort is divided across multiple stimuli (more than one task)

Daydreaming

allows us to detach from the external world and spend more time in our own internal worlds

Meditation

using mental exercises to become highly focused on a single thought, to the exclusion of others

Hypnosis

involves hyper-awareness where a person will often appear as if they are asleep, but they are in fact processing their thoughts through deep, focused awareness

Sleep

a state where we lack full awareness but the brain is still active

Consciousness

an organism's awareness of something that is either internal or external to itself

Physiological Indicators Of Consciousness

Brainwaves, Heart Rate, Galvanic Skin Response

Physiological Measures of Consciousness

objective measures that are free from bias and less susceptible to manipulation

Beta Waves

Alpha Waves

high frequency and low amplitude waves with slightly larger amplitude than beta waves

Brainwaves

measured through an EEG which detects, amplifies and records electrical activity in the brain

Heart Rate

can be measured using a heart rate monitor or an electrocardiograph (ECG)

Galvanic Skin Response

measures the electrical conductivity of the skin which increases when we sweat

EEG

electroencephalograph which detects, amplifies and records electrical activity in the brain

Electrocardiogram

recording taken from ECGs

Electroencephalograms

recordings taken from EEGs

GSR

Galvanic Skin Response can bypass the filters of our conscious mind

Deep Sleep

characterized by low frequency and high amplitude brainwaves

Awake

characterized by high frequency and low amplitude brainwaves

Heart Rate Fluctuations

heart rate fluctuates during sleep and is increased when alert

Skin Conductivity

the ability of the skin to pass an electrical current increases when we sweat