AP Psychology Unit 1.5

Consciousness

Our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Shift to Behaviorism

Early 20th-century focus shift from consciousness to observable behavior.

Cognitive Neuroscience

Interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with mental processes.

Threshold for Conscious Awareness

Stronger stimuli activate synchronized brain areas; weaker stimuli remain unconscious.

Dual Processing

Information is simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.

High Road vs. Low Road

High road refers to conscious awareness; low road refers to unconscious processing.

Blindsight

Condition where a person responds to visual stimuli without consciously seeing them.

Parallel Processing

Fast, automatic processing of multiple stimulus aspects simultaneously.

Sequential Processing

Slower, conscious processing of one aspect at a time for complex problems.

Sleep

Periodic, natural loss of consciousness distinct from unconsciousness like coma or anesthesia.

Circadian Rhythm

Biological clock that regulates bodily rhythms on a regular 24-hour cycle.

NREM Sleep

Non-rapid eye movement sleep encompassing all sleep stages except REM.

Alpha Waves

Relatively slow brain waves characteristic of a relaxed, awake state.

Hypnagogic Sensations

Bizarre sensory experiences like floating or falling while transitioning into sleep.

Delta Waves

Large, slow brain waves associated with NREM-3 deep sleep.

REM Sleep

Recurring sleep stage with vivid dreams, high brain activity, and muscle paralysis.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)

Hypothalamus cell clusters controlling circadian rhythm by regulating melatonin production.

Melatonin

Sleep-inducing hormone decreased by light-stimulated SCN activity.

Sleep Functions

Protection, neural repair, memory consolidation, creative thinking support, and growth hormone release.

Sleep Deprivation Effects

Causes mood instability, weight gain, immune suppression, and decreased cognitive performance.

Insomnia

Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

Sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks, often lapsing directly into REM.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep disorder featuring temporary cessations of breathing and repeated momentary awakenings.

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

Condition where normal REM paralysis fails, causing individuals to act out dreams.

Pills and Alcohol for Insomnia

Aggravate sleep issues by suppressing REM sleep and causing memory difficulties.

Dream

A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind.

Freud's Wish-Fulfillment Theory

Proposes dreams express unacceptable feelings through manifest and latent content.

Manifest Content

According to Freud, the remembered storyline of a dream.

Latent Content

According to Freud, the underlying, hidden meaning of a dream.

Information-Processing Theory

Proposes dreams help organize and consolidate the day's experiences into memory.

Activation-Synthesis Theory

Proposes dreams are the brain's attempt to synthesize random neural firing into storylines.

Cognitive Development Theory

Proposes dream content reflects the dreamer's cognitive development and knowledge.

REM Rebound

The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation.