States of Consciousness

Consciousness

Our level of awareness about ourselves and the environment.

Behaviorism

Psychology must discard all references to consciousness.

Ego

Freud's concept that is free-floating in all three levels of consciousness.

Non-Conscious

Body processes that operate automatically, like heartbeat and digestion.

Pre-Conscious

Information not currently in consciousness but can be accessed.

Sub Conscious

Information not aware of but affects behavior, such as mere exposure.

Unconscious

Harmful events repressed from conscious awareness.

Dualism

Belief that the mind and body are distinct entities.

Monism

Belief that mind and body are one and the same.

Sleep

Altered state of consciousness with diminished responsiveness.

Circadian Rhythm

Biological clock regulating body rhythms including sleep cycles.

REM Sleep

Rapid Eye Movement sleep where most dreaming occurs.

Sleep Cycle

The progression through different stages of sleep.

Sleep Stages

Different levels of sleep measured by brain activity.

Hallucination

Perceptual experiences without external stimuli, often linked to sleep deprivation.

Insomnia

Chronic difficulty in falling or staying asleep affecting 10% of the population.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing and loud snoring.

Night Terrors

Episodes of screaming and terror during sleep, common in children.

Dreams

Story-like images occurring primarily during REM sleep.

Melatonin

Hormone that regulates sleep; levels decrease with age.

GABA

Neurotransmitter that induces sleep.

Tolerance

A condition requiring larger doses of a drug to achieve the same effect.

Withdrawal

Physical and psychological symptoms experienced when stopping a drug.

Agonist

A drug that mimics neurotransmitters and stimulates receptor sites.

Antagonist

A drug that blocks neurotransmitters from binding to their receptors.

Stimulants

Drugs that increase activity in the brain and central nervous system, leading to heightened alertness and energy.

Controlled Processing

Mental activities requiring focused attention and effort.

Automatic Processing

Mental activities requiring minimal conscious awareness or effort.

State of Consciousness

A particular pattern of brain activity and mental experience.

Altered States of Consciousness

Any state that deviates from normal waking consciousness, such as sleep, hypnosis, or drug-induced states.

Selective Attention

The ability to focus on one stimulus while ignoring others.

Cocktail Party Effect

The ability to attend to only one voice among many while still being able to detect important information, like one's name, from unattended stimuli.

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere.

Change Blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment.

NREM Sleep

Non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep, characterized by three distinct stages.

NREM Stage 1

The initial, lightest stage of sleep, characterized by theta waves and hypnic jerks.

NREM Stage 2

A deeper stage of sleep with sleep spindles and K-complexes, where body temperature and heart rate slow down.

NREM Stage 3 (Deep Sleep)

The deepest stage of NREM sleep, characterized by slow delta waves, crucial for physical restoration.

Sleep Spindles

Bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity during NREM Stage 2 sleep.

K-Complexes

High-amplitude brain waves that occur during NREM Stage 2 sleep, often in response to external stimuli.

Hypnic Jerk

A sudden, involuntary muscle spasm that occurs just as a person is falling asleep.

Paradoxical Sleep

Another name for REM sleep, due to the combination of active brain waves and muscle paralysis.

Sleep Debt

The cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep over time.

Narcolepsy

A chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep.

REM Rebound

Increased amounts of REM sleep after being deprived of it on earlier nights.

Restorative Theory of Sleep

Theory that sleep allows the body and brain to repair and replenish themselves.

Adaptive Theory of Sleep

Theory that sleep evolved to keep animals safe during periods when activity would be most dangerous.

Activation-Synthesis Theory of Dreams

Theory that dreams result from the brain's attempt to make sense of random neural activity during REM sleep.

Freud's Wish-Fulfillment Theory

Theory that dreams provide a "psychic safety valve"—expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings.

Manifest Content

According to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream.

Latent Content

According to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream.

Sleep Paralysis

A temporary inability to move or speak that occurs when waking up or falling asleep.

Psychoactive Drugs

Chemical substances that alter perceptions and moods.

Depressants

Drugs that calm neural activity and slow body functions (e.g., alcohol, barbiturates, opiates).

Barbiturates

Depressant drugs, often prescribed to induce sleep or reduce anxiety.

Opiates

Depressant drugs, such as opium, morphine, and heroin, that reduce pain and anxiety.

Hallucinogens

Psychedelic drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input (e.g., LSD, marijuana).

LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)

A powerful hallucinogenic drug, also known as acid.

THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol)

The major active ingredient in marijuana.

Physiological Dependence

A physical need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued.