PSYC 1100 – Week 8 Consciousness

Vocabulary flashcards covering the major terms and concepts from Week 8 lecture on Consciousness.

Consciousness

A person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind.

Phenomenology

The study of how things seem to the conscious person.

Problem of Other Minds

The fundamental difficulty of perceiving the consciousness of others.

Philosophical Zombie

A hypothetical being that behaves like a human but lacks conscious experience.

Agency (mind perception)

Judged ability for self-control, planning, and thought in another mind.

Experience (mind perception)

Judged capacity to feel sensations and emotions in another mind.

Mind-Body Problem

The issue of how mental states are related to physical brain activity.

Intentionality

Property of consciousness whereby it is directed toward an object or stimulus.

Unity (of consciousness)

Ability to integrate sensory information into a coherent whole.

Selectivity

Capacity to include some objects and exclude others from awareness.

Transience

The tendency of conscious focus to keep changing over time.

Dichotic Listening

Task with different messages in each ear used to study selective attention.

Cocktail Party Phenomenon

Ability to focus on one conversation yet notice personally relevant stimuli (e.g., your name) elsewhere.

Minimal Consciousness

Low-level sensory awareness and responsiveness that can occur during sleep.

Full Consciousness

State in which you are aware of and can report your mental experiences.

Self-Consciousness

Attention is directed toward the self as an object (e.g., embarrassment, self-reflection).

Mirror Self-Recognition (Rouge) Task

Test for self-consciousness where individuals recognize a mark on their face in a mirror.

Coma

State of complete unawareness with closed eyes and no purposeful response to stimuli.

Vegetative State

Condition with sleep-wake cycles and reflexive behaviours but no evidence of awareness.

Locked-In Syndrome

Paralysis of nearly all muscles while full consciousness is preserved.

Experience Sampling / EMA

Method in which participants report their conscious experiences in real time.

Daydreaming

Purposeless flow of thoughts when attention drifts from immediate tasks.

Default Network

Brain regions active during rest and self-referential thought, prominent in daydreaming.

Mental Control

The attempt to change or regulate the conscious mind.

Thought Suppression

Conscious attempt to avoid a specific thought.

Rebound Effect (of suppression)

Suppressed thoughts return to consciousness more frequently afterward.

Ironic Processes of Mental Control

Monitoring for errors can itself cause the unwanted thought or action.

Dynamic Unconscious (Freud)

Active system of hidden memories, instincts, and inner conflict outside awareness.

Repression

Mental process that keeps unacceptable thoughts in the unconscious.

Freudian Slip

Verbal or behavioural mistake believed to reveal unconscious thoughts.

Cognitive Unconscious

All mental processes not experienced yet influencing thoughts and behaviour.

Dual Process Theories

Models proposing fast, automatic System 1 and slow, effortful System 2 processing.

System 1

Fast, automatic, unconscious mental processing system.

System 2

Slow, deliberate, conscious mental processing system.

Altered State of Consciousness

Experience that departs significantly from normal subjective awareness.

Hypnagogic State

Pre-sleep transitional consciousness with wandering, dreamlike thoughts.

Hypnic Jerk

Sudden muscular twitch or falling sensation during early sleep onset.

Circadian Rhythm

Natural ~24-hour cycle governing sleep–wake and other bodily functions.

Stage 1 Sleep

Light sleep with theta waves; easy to awaken.

Stage 2 Sleep

Sleep stage with theta waves and sleep spindles; harder to awaken.

Stage 3 Sleep

Deep sleep characterized by delta waves.

Stage 4 Sleep

Deepest non-REM sleep dominated by delta waves.

REM Sleep

Stage with rapid eye movements, dreaming, and brain activity similar to wakefulness.

Sleep Deprivation

Insufficient sleep leading to cognitive deficits, mood problems, and health risks.

Insomnia

Chronic difficulty falling or staying asleep.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops, causing nocturnal awakenings.

Sleepwalking

Walking during non-REM sleep without conscious awareness.

Narcolepsy

Disorder involving sudden REM sleep attacks during wakefulness.

Sleep Paralysis

Temporary inability to move when awakening from REM sleep.

Night Terrors

Abrupt awakening with intense fear, usually early in the sleep cycle.

Dream Characteristics

Intense emotion, illogical thought, vivid sensation, uncritical acceptance, and poor recall.

Manifest Content

The surface storyline of a dream, according to Freud.

Latent Content

The hidden, true meaning of a dream, per Freudian theory.

Activation-Synthesis Model

Theory that dreams result from the brain’s attempt to make sense of random neural activity.

Lucid Dreaming

Dreaming while aware that one is dreaming, often with some control.

Psychoactive Drug

Substance that alters consciousness or behaviour by affecting neurotransmission.

Drug Tolerance

Needing larger doses over time to achieve the same effect.

Depressants

Drugs that reduce central nervous system activity and have calming effects.

Expectancy Theory (alcohol)

Belief that alcohol effects are shaped by users’ expectations of those effects.

Alcohol Myopia

Impaired attention under alcohol leading to simplistic responses to complex situations.

Stimulants

Drugs that increase CNS activity, arousal, and energy (e.g., cocaine).

Narcotics (Opiates)

Highly addictive pain-relieving drugs derived from opium.

Hallucinogens

Drugs that profoundly alter sensation and perception, producing hallucinations.

Hypnosis

Social interaction where suggestions alter a participant’s subjective experience.

Posthypnotic Amnesia

Inability to recall information following a hypnotic suggestion to forget.

Hypnotic Analgesia

Pain reduction achieved through hypnotic suggestion in susceptible individuals.