Comprehensive Study Guide: Consciousness, Sleep, Sensation, and Perception in Psychology

What is consciousness?

Awareness of oneself and one's environment, including both internal thoughts and external stimuli.

What is dual processing in consciousness?

The concept that the mind operates on two tracks: conscious and unconscious.

What are altered states of consciousness?

States in which there is a shift in the quality or pattern of mental activity compared to waking consciousness.

What are some spontaneous altered states of consciousness?

Daydreaming, drowsiness, and dreaming.

What are physiologically induced altered states of consciousness?

Hallucinations and euphoria, which can result from food or oxygen starvation.

What are psychologically induced altered states of consciousness?

Sensory deprivation, hypnosis, and meditation.

How do scientists measure consciousness?

Using an electroencephalograph (EEG) to summarize electrical activity in terms of brain waves.

What is the circadian rhythm?

The 24-hour cycle that regulates sleep-wake patterns, influenced by age, experience, body temperature, and hormones.

What role does the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) play in sleep?

It acts as an internal clock sensitive to light changes, regulating the secretion of melatonin for sleepiness.

What is melatonin?

A hormone that helps regulate daily biological rhythms and promotes sleep.

What are the two main types of sleep?

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and NREM (Non-REM) sleep.

What characterizes NREM Stage 1 sleep?

Light sleep with alpha waves decreasing and theta waves increasing; easy to wake the individual.

What happens during NREM Stage 2 sleep?

Brain waves slow down, sleep spindles occur, and the stage lasts about 20 minutes.

What occurs during NREM Stage 3 sleep?

Deep sleep characterized by delta waves, where growth hormones are released and memories consolidate.

What is REM sleep known for?

Dreaming occurs, brain waves resemble waking states, and the body experiences REM paralysis.

What is insomnia?

A perception of inadequate or poor sleep, including difficulty falling asleep and waking unrefreshed.

What are common symptoms of sleep debt?

Suppressed immunity, depressed mood, difficulty learning, and increased appetite.

What is narcolepsy?

A sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden sleep attacks.

What is sleep apnea?

A disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.

What are parasomnias?

Sleep disorders that include behaviors like sleepwalking and REM sleep behavior disorder.

What is the significance of sleep for memory?

Sleep helps restore and rebuild memories, strengthening and stabilizing them.

How does sleep support growth?

The pituitary gland releases growth hormones during sleep, promoting muscle development.

What is the average number of dreams a person has in a year?

Approximately 1,500 dreams.

What is the misconception about sleep and brain rest?

During sleep, the brain is active and not resting; it processes information and consolidates memories.

What are common causes of insomnia?

Stress, travel, work schedule, environment, poor sleep habits, eating/drinking, mental health disorders, medications, and health conditions.

What is cataplexy?

A sudden loss of muscle tone while a person is awake, often triggered by strong emotions.

What are common symptoms of sleep apnea?

Loud snoring, gasping, choking during sleep, daytime sleepiness, irritability, and possibly high blood pressure.

What is somnambulism?

Also known as sleepwalking, it involves walking and moving about during sleep, typically occurring in NREM sleep.

What are night terrors?

High arousal episodes during NREM sleep, characterized by screaming and confusion, often with no recollection of the event.

What differentiates nightmares from night terrors?

Nightmares occur during REM sleep and involve anxiety-arousing dreams, while night terrors occur during NREM sleep and involve high arousal without coherent dreams.

What is the average number of dreams a person has per night?

4 to 5 dreams, occurring approximately 90 minutes apart during REM sleep.

What is Sigmund Freud's theory of dreams?

The theory of wish-fulfillment, suggesting dreams express unconscious desires and internal conflicts.

What is the difference between manifest content and latent content in dreams?

Manifest content is what actually happens in the dream, while latent content is the interpretation of those events.

What does the cognitive development theory of dreams propose?

Dream content reflects the dreamer's cognitive development and understanding of the world.

What is the activation-synthesis theory of dreaming?

This theory posits that dreams result from random neural activity, which the brain weaves into a narrative.

What is the information processing theory of dreams?

Dreams help process and organize information and stimuli from the day, aiding in memory consolidation.

What is physiological functioning in relation to dreams?

During REM sleep, the brain creates neural pathways, preserving and repairing existing ones.

What is REM rebound?

An increase in REM sleep above normal levels following a period of sleep deprivation.

What is the definition of sensation?

The detection of stimuli from the body or surroundings.

What is perception?

The interpretation and organization of sensations into meaningful patterns.

What is psychophysics?

The study of the relationship between the physical characteristics of stimuli and how we psychologically experience them.

What is bottom-up processing?

The process of receiving sensory stimulation and transforming it into neural impulses.

What is top-down processing?

The brain's method of making sense of stimuli based on prior knowledge and expectations.

What is selective attention?

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

What is the cocktail party effect?

The ability to listen to one voice among many in a noisy environment.

What is inattentional blindness?

Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere.

What is change blindness?

The failure to notice changes in the environment.

What is the absolute threshold?

The minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time.

What is the difference threshold?

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time.

What is Weber's Law?

The principle that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage, not amount.

What is the subliminal threshold?

It is below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness, where emotional reactivity may occur but effects are subtle and fleeting.

What is sensory adaptation?

Diminished sensitivity as a result of constant stimulation, where we cease to notice static energy levels.

What is top-down processing in visual perception?

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, where we perceive raw stimuli as meaningful units.

What does Gestalt psychology emphasize?

It emphasizes viewing the whole picture rather than focusing on individual stimuli, organizing them into meaningful units.

What is the Gestalt principle of figure-ground?

It refers to the ability to distinguish an object (figure) from its background (ground).

What is the Gestalt principle of grouping?

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into understandable groups, including principles like proximity and similarity.

What is the visual cliff experiment?

An experiment designed to test depth perception in babies, determining if it is learned or innate.

What are binocular cues?

Depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes, such as retinal disparity and convergence.

What is retinal disparity?

The difference between the two images seen by the retinas, allowing for the calculation of distance.

What are monocular cues?

Depth cues that require only one eye, helping us perceive distance through various principles like relative height and size.

What is perceptual constancy?

The understanding that objects remain the same despite changes in perception, including color, size, and shape constancy.

What is the structure of the ear?

It consists of the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear, each playing a role in the process of hearing.

What are the physical characteristics that determine our sensory experience of sound?

Wavelength/frequency (determining pitch) and amplitude (determining loudness).

What is the process of hearing?

Sound waves cause vibrations in the cochlea, where hair cells convert these vibrations into neural messages sent to the brain.

What is place theory in sound perception?

It links the pitch we hear with the location of stimulation on the cochlea's membrane.

What is frequency theory in sound perception?

It states that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, enabling pitch perception.

What is conduction hearing loss?

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

What is sensorineural hearing loss?

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or auditory nerves, also known as nerve deafness.