Ch 5: Consciousness

the “mind-body problem”

the problem of understanding how the mind is related to the physical brain

Parallelism

mind and body have an identity relationship (the mind is what the brain does)

self-consciousness

attention to one’s self as an object

full consciousness

subjective experience of the world and the mind, are able to report mental state

minimal consciousness

low-level responsiveness to events in the world, mind inputs sensations and may output behavior

cognitive unconsciousness

all the mental processes that are not subjectively experienced although they may give rise to conscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

the problem of other minds

the fundamental difficulty we have perceiving others’ consciousness

global neuronal workspace theory

sensory activity of sufficient strength can “ignite” feedback loops of activity throughout the brain, turning the sensory representation into an explicit working memory state that is consciously perceived

1. Intentionality

2. Unity

3. Selectivity

4. Transience

4 properties of consciousness

Unity

Consciousness integrates information from the senses into a coherent whole

Selectivity

Consciousness selects only some available sensory information and filters out the rest

Transience

the contents of consciousness are in constant flux

Consciousness

subjective experience of the world and the mind

Freud’s Pre-consciousness

memories and storied knowledge

Freud’s dynamic unconscious

fears, violent urges, irrational wishes, and unacceptable sexual desires

repression (Freud)

a mental process that removes unacceptable thoughts and memories from consciousness and keeps them in the unconscious 

• shapes learning

• shapes behavior

Influence of unconscious processes?

1. Safety

2. Energy Conservation

3. Physiological restoration and immunity

4. Memory consolidation

Why do we sleep?

1. Threat-rehearsal

2. Activation-synthesis

Why do we dream?

Dreaming: threat-rehearsal

permitting rehearsal of response to threat

Dreaming: activation-synthesis

interpreting random neural firing

• keep regular sleep schedule

• avoid caffeine before bed

• avoid eating or watching TV in bed

• Exercise or take warm shower a few hours before bed

How to get a good night’s sleep?

1. Awake- Beta

2. Drowsy- Alpha

3. Stage 1- Theta

4. Stage 2- Sleep spindles

5. Stage 3 and 4- Delta

6. REM- fast/random (like beta)

Sleep Stages + waves

phenomenology

the study of how things seem to the conscious person

intentionality

quality of being directed toward an object

dichotic listening

a task in which people wearing headphones hear different messages in each ear

cocktail-party phenomenon

a phenomenon in which people tune in one message even while they filter out others nearby

mental control

the attempt to change conscious states of mind

thought suppression

the conscious avoidance of a thought

rebound effect of thought suppression

the tendency of a thought to return to consciousness with greater frequency following suppression

ironic processes of mental control

ironic errors occur (overshooting) because the mental process that monitors errors can itself produce them

dual process theories

suggest that we have two different systems in our brains for processing information: one dedicated to fast, automatic, and unconscious processing; and the other dedicated to slow, effortful, and conscious processing

altered state of consciousness

a form of experience that departs significantly from the normal subjective experience of the world and the mind

circadian rhythm

naturally occurring 24-hour cycle

REM sleep

a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity

electrooculograph (EOG)

an instrument that measures eye movements during sleep

insomnia

difficult in falling asleep or staying asleep

sleep apnea

a disorder in which the person stops breathing for brief periods while asleep

somnambulism (sleepwalking)

occurs when a person arises and walks around while sleeping

narcolepsy

a disorder in which sudden sleep attacks occur in the middle of waking activities

sleep paralysis

the experience of waking up unable to move

sleep terrors (night terrors)

abrupt awakenings with panic and intense emotional arousal

1. intensely feel emotion

2. dream thought is illogical

3. Sensation is fully formed and meaningful

4. Dreaming occurs with uncritical acceptance

5. We have difficult remembering the dream after it is over

Dream consciousness characteristics that distinguish it from waking state

manifest content of a dream (Freud)

its apparent topic or superficial meaning

latent content of a dream (Freud)

a dream’s true underlying meaning

activation-synthesis model

the theory that dreams are produced when the brain attempts to make sense of random neural activity that occurs during sleep

psychoactive drugs

chemicals that influence consciousness or behavior by altering the brain’s chemical message system

drug tolerance

the tendency for larger drug doses to be required over time to achieve the same effect

depressants

substances that reduce the activity of the CNS

expectancy theory

idea that alcohol effects can be produced by people’s expectations of how alcohol will influence them in particular situations

balanced placebo design

a study design in which behavior is observed following the presence or absence of an actual stimulus and also following the presence or absence of a placebo stimulus

alcohol myopia

a condition that results when alcohol hampers attention, leading people to respond in simple ways to complex situations

stimulants

substances that excite the CNS, heightening arousal and activity levels

narcotics (opiates)

highly addictive drugs derived from opium that relieve pain

hallucinogens

drugs that alter sensation and perception and often cause visual and auditory hallucinations

marijuana (cannabis)

the leaves and buds of the hemp plant, which contain a psychoactive drug called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

gateway drug

a drug that whose use increases the risk of the subsequent use of more harmful drugs

hypnosis

a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) makes suggestions that lead to a change in another person’s (the participant’s) subjective experience of the world

posthypnotic amnesia

the failure to retrieve memories following hypnotic suggestions to forget

hypnotic analgesia

the reduction of pain through hypnosis in people who are susceptible to hypnosis