Psych 101 Consciousness

introspection

Conscious experience was studied early on through a process of

behaviorism

As BLANK and its focus on observable phenomena took hold, less emphasis was placed on the study of consciousness

cognitive revolution

Focus on consciousness re-emerged as a function of the

consciousness

state of awareness of both internal and external stimuli

consciousness

refers to the subjective awareness of one’s own sensations, perceptions, and other mental events

attention

refers to the process of selectively responding to some things in the environment, to the exclusion of others

divided consciousness

refers to the splitting off of two conscious activities that occur simultaneously

automatic

Individuals are better at handling multiple tasks especially when they are

wakefulness, sleep, preconscious state, nonconscious state, unconscious state

5 levels of consciousness

wakefulness

a state of consciousness characterized by high levels of awareness, behavior, and thought

sleep

a state of consciousness characterized by lower levels of physical activity and sensory awareness

preconscious state

refers to a state when mental events lie outside of current conscious awareness but can be brought into consciousness voluntarily

nonconscious state

refers to a state when mental processing occurs outside conscious awareness

unconscious state

lack of awareness. Freud believed that the unconscious serves as a repository for primitive urges via repression or suppression

sleep

The sleep-wake cycle is an example of a circadian rhythm that require 24 hours to complete a full cycle

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

The BLANK of the hypothalamus controls circadian rhythms through using cues such as levels of light

hypnagogic state

we begin to lose voluntary control over our body movements; our sensitivity to outside stimuli diminishes; and our thoughts become more fanciful and less bound by reality.

• It is when we experience brief but vivid dream-like images.

• It is a highly relaxed, enjoyable state. However, we suddenly feel as if we are falling, and our bodies experience a sudden jerk called a myoclonia

light sleep

transitional phase between sleep and wakefulness characterized by decreased muscle tone and body temperature

EEG recordings from this stage are dominated by alpha waves early on and dominated by theta waves

Sleep spindles and K-complexes

It involves deeper relaxation and continued theta wave activity.

Sleep spindles and K-complexes are characteristic wave patterns that appear during this stage of sleep.

Sleep spindles are brief bursts of brain activity that have a frequency of 12 to 15 cycles per second.

Beginning of delta waves

It is the entry into slow-wave sleep characterized by the appearance of delta waves on an EEG

Deepest stage of sleep

It is the deepest stage of sleep with continued delta wave activity.

It is the phase when it is extremely difficult to wake up a person

REM

After perhaps half an hour of deep stage 4 sleep, we begin a relatively rapid journey back upward through the stages until we reach the BLANK stage.

During BLANK sleep, we produce relatively rapid, low-amplitude brain waves that resemble those of light stage 1 sleep.It is where dreaming commonly occurs.

5

Each night we tend to undergo BLANK cycles through the stages of sleep.

lighter

Sleep tends to become BLANK as the night wears on; periods of REM sleep lengthen, and we may not enter the deepest stages of sleep

Sleep is an adaptive behavior. This argument suggests that we may have evolved to sleep through the night as periods of inactivity would have protected us from danger.

Sleep is a form of energy conservation. This theory suggests that sleep allows for reduced energetic demands, which would surely be helpful in environment in which resources are limited.

Sleep is a restorative process. Sleep allows us to restore/repair the consequences of the activity associated with wakefulness.

Sleep is associated with changes in brain structure and brain organization. This could involve the development of the brains of infants and young children and processes of learning and memory in adults.

Functions of sleep

night terrors

usually occurs during the first half of the night, person is not fully awake after the episode, person cannot be consoled, person will not remember the episode in the morning, presence of vocalizations, movements, and autonomic arousal during the episode.

Nightmares

usually occurs during the second half of the night, person is fully awake after the episode, person can be calmed, person can recall and remember the episode in the morning, person is non-responsive during the nightmare itself

sleepwalking

occurs primarily during the deepest parts of non-REM sleep. Sleepwalkers get up and carry-on complicated activities even though they are sound asleep

sleeptalking

common phenomenon that can occur during any phase of the sleep cycle

insomnia

refers to a variety of difficulties in which individuals report that they sleep less than they wish

Sleep-onset insomnia

refers to the difficulty falling asleep at the hour at which they would like, but sleep is normal after it begins.

sleep-maintenance insomnia

characterized by waking up earlier than desired, either several times in the middle of the night or early in the morning

narcolepsy

a rare sleep disorder that includes unexpectedly falling into a deep slumber in the middle of work or even during conversations with others

sleep apnea

sudden, temporary interruption of breathing during sleep

1/4, 20%

Only about BLANK of dream images include auditory sensations, and about BLANK include body sensations

negative

When people are asked about the emotional content of their dreams as soon as they spontaneously wake up, they say that about 60% of their emotional dreams contained BLANK emotions

bizarre and unrealistic

About ¾ of our dreams contain at least one BLANK element,

mixed into an otherwise realistic dream

continuity hypothesis

views dreams as residues of the day. The content of dreams tends to be consistent with previous cognitive activity

activation-synthesis model

states that dreams reflect the activation of cognitive activity by the reticular formation and synthesis of this activity into a pattern.

The reticular formation stimulates parts of the cortex involved in memory. The cortex synthesizes these sources of stimulation to yield a logical story

royal road to the unconscious; psychic safety valve

Freud believes that dreams reflect unconscious wishes and urges. Dreams express impulses we would censor during the day.

Freud believed that dreams were the “BLANK” and sleep is a “BLANK” for unconscious

wishes and desires.

manifest

literal meaning of dreams

latent content

true meaning of dreams that is found in symbols in their manifest content

Distortions of perception

Intense positive emotion

Sense of unity

Illogical

Indescribability

Transcendent

Self-evident reality

general name for phenomena that are different from normal waking consciousness and include mystic perceptual and sensory experience

meditation

includes several methods of focusing concentration away from thoughts and feelings

and generating a sense of relaxation.

• It involves assuming a relaxed sitting or lying position and breathing deeply, slowly, and rhythmically.

• Attention is directed only at breathing movements of the diaphragm, and all other thoughts and feelings are gently blocked from consciousness

Meditation

can be highly therapeutic because it might reduce stress.

Contrary to contemporary scientific principles of psychotherapy, in many types of meditation principles of detachment from others are valued.

Once mastered, meditation can produce a desirable altered state of consciousness –the so-called transcendental state.

mindfulness

state of focusing one’s conscious awareness completely on what is going on at the present

It is a sleeplike state marked by reduced sensitivity to stimuli and a loss or alteration of knowledge and automatic motor activity.

BLANK often induced by external sources, such as music, singing, and direct suggestion of others.

Two kinds of BLANK include a visionary BLANK and possession BLANK

Hypnosis

condition of focused attention and increased suggestibility that occurs in a trance-like context but with a special hypnotist-subject relationship

psychotropic drugs

a class of drugs that alter conscious experience.

• These drugs influence specific neurotransmitters in the brain or alter the action of neurons in other ways.

• The range of effects of psychotropic drugs is enormous, from mild relaxation to vivid

hallucinations

depressants

reduce the activity of excitatory centers of the CNS, leading to a sense of relaxation

stimulants

increase the activity of the motivational centers and decrease action in inhibitory centers of the CNS, providing a sense of energy and well-being

hallucinogens

produces dreamlike changes in perception

inhalants

common, often readily available chemicals that are put to dangerous use when inhaled to produce feelings of intoxication

drug dependence

Many people who use psychotropic drugs find that they come to crave them intensely and suffer intense withdrawal symptoms when they do not take the drug

Sensitization of pleasure and reward systems in the brain.

Reduction of negative feelings

Classical conditioning

Reasons for drug dependence