States of Consciousness

Flashcards of vocabulary terms related to states of consciousness.

Consciousness

Underlying the mental model we create of the world of which we are aware.

Waking Consciousness

State in which thoughts, feelings, and sensations are clear and organized, and the person feels alert

Altered State of Consciousness

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

Introspection

Self-reporting to find the boundaries of conscious thought.

Cognitive Neuroscience

Involves cognitive psychology, neurology, biology, computer science and linguistics.

Explicit Processing

Processing conscious thought and focusing your full attention at the task at hand (effortful processing).

Implicit Processing

Processing that happens without conscious awareness, in which you can perform an action before you even become aware of it (automatic processing)

Selective Attention

Consciousness restricts our attention, keeping our brain from being overwhelmed by stimulation.

Binding Problem

How sensation combines with memory, emotions and motives to create the one perception of our reality.

Mere-exposure effect

Tendency to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.

Blind sight

The ability to respond to visual stimuli without having any conscious visual experience.

Preconscious memories

Information that is not currently in consciousness, but can be recalled voluntarily.

Unconscious

Cognition (thought) without awareness.

Priming

Using leading questions to influence the answer people give.

Conscious (Freud)

The part of the mind that holds what you’re aware of.

Preconscious (Freud)

Ordinary memory that can be readily brought into consciousness.

Unconscious (Freud)

The part of the mind that is not directly accessible to awareness, a dump box for urges, feelings, and ideas that are tied to anxiety, conflict and pain.

Ego

Based on the reality principle--understands that other people have needs and desires and that sometimes being impulsive or selfish is bad.

Id

Based on our pleasure principle--wants whatever feels good at the time, with no consideration for the reality of the situation.

Superego

The moral part of us and develops due to the morals and ethics of our parents.

Oedipus Complex

Unconscious mind chose mates substitutes for fathers.

Cocktail Party Effect

Alerting us to important things, like someone saying our name in a crowded room.

Daydreaming

Attention shifts to memories, expectations, desires or fantasies and away from the immediate situation.

Circadian Rhythm

Often referred to as the body clock, it is a 24-hour cycle that rules us all.

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

In the hypothalamus is the control center for our 24 hour rhythm of sleep.

Melatonin

A hormone connected to the wake-sleep cycles that builds up while we sleep.

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS)

A disorder of sleep timing. People with DSPS tend to fall asleep very late at night and have difficulty waking up in time for work, school, or social engagements.

Evolutionary/adaptive theory of sleep

Sleep protects us.

Restorative theory of sleep

Sleep helps us recuperate/replenish chemicals and repair cellular damage, repairs brain tissue.

Ultradian Rhythms

Occur more than once a day, these are the cycles during our night’s sleep.

Alpha waves

Experienced on the onset of sleep.

NREM-Stage 1

Light stage sleep, which means that you’re somewhat alert and can be easily woken.

Hypnagogic images

Hallucinations or vivid visual events.

Hypnic jerk

Knees, legs, or whole body jerks.

NREM-Stage 2

Still fairly light sleep; brain waves slow down even more and brain produces sudden increases in brain wave frequency (little brain wave-bursts) known as sleep spindles.

Slow-wave sleep or delta sleep

Brainwave cycles are less than 1 cycle per second.

REM Sleep

A reoccurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur.

Paradoxical sleep

The muscles of the body are relaxed, but the other body systems are active.

REM Rebound

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

Nightmares

Unpleasant/terrifying dreams occurring during R E M sleep.

Night Terrors

Happens shortly after a person falls asleep, in the Non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) stage of sleep.

Insomnia

The inability to get to sleep, stay asleep, persistently waking too early or get a good quality of sleep.

Sleep Walking (Somnambulism)

The sleepwalker can walk, talk and see, but will have little or no memory of the event when they wake up.

Sleep Apnea

Loud snoring and the person stops breathing for nearly half a minute or more.

Narcolepsy

Sudden sleep seizure during waking state.

Cataplexy

A sudden loss of muscle tone that leads to weakness and loss of muscle control.

Sleep Paralysis

A state where the awakened sleeper feels paralyzed.

Lucid Dreaming

Any dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming. Dreamer has greater chances to exert some degree of control over their participation or manipulate experiences.

Psychoactive drugs

A chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood

Physical Dependence

Physiological need for a drug marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.