PSYC 1020 Exam 2 Review - Consciousness and Sleep

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms and definitions related to consciousness, sleep, memory, and drug use as studied in PSYC 1020.

Consciousness

An individual’s awareness of external events and internal sensations under conditions of arousal.

Metacognition

The processes we use to think about thinking.

Theory of mind

An individual’s understanding that they and others think, feel, perceive, and have private experiences.

Prefrontal cortex

Region of the brain involved in awareness and executive function.

Reticular activating system

A brain system including the brain stem, medulla, and thalamus that plays a role in arousal.

Higher-Level Consciousness

Involves controlled processing and requires selective attention.

Controlled processing

Requires selective attention, focusing on a specific aspect of experience while ignoring others.

Altered States of Consciousness

Mental states that differ notably from normal awareness, induced by drugs, trauma, or other factors.

Circadian rhythm

A daily behavioral or physiological cycle that involves the sleep/wake cycle and other bodily functions.

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

A small structure in the brain that helps synchronize the body's rhythms with the daily cycle of light and dusk.

REM sleep

An active stage of sleep where dreaming occurs, characterized by rapid eye movements.

Insomnia

The inability to sleep, involving difficulties in falling or staying asleep.

Sleep apnea

A disorder where individuals stop breathing during sleep due to various causes.

Hallucinogen

Substances that modify perceptual experiences and produce visual images that are not real.

Opioids

Narcotics that act on endorphin receptors, often used as painkillers, with a high risk of addiction.

Stimulants

Substances that increase central nervous system activity, such as caffeine and cocaine.

Psychodynamic Approach to dreams

Proposes that dreams have manifest (surface) and latent (hidden) content.

Flashbulb memories

Memories of emotionally significant events that are recalled with high accuracy and vivid imagery.

Amnesia

Loss of memory, including anterograde (inability to store new information) and retrograde (inability to retrieve past information) amnesia.

Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon

A retrieval failure where an individual feels they know something but cannot retrieve it.

Memory Encoding

The process of getting information into memory, which can be automatic or effortful.

Chunking

Grouping amounts of information into higher order, single units to improve memory retention.