chapter 5: states of consciousness

dualism

belief that humans consist of two materials: thought and matter

monism

belief that everything is the same

mere-exposure effect

occurs when we prefer stimuli we have seen before

priming

research participants respond more quickly and/or accurately to questions they have seen before, even if they don’t remember seeing them before

blind sight

some people who report being blind can nonetheless accurately describe the path of a moving object or accurately grasp objects they say they cannot see

conscious level

the information about yourself and your environment you are currently aware of

nonconscious level

body processes controlled by your mind that we are not usually aware of

preconscious level

information about yourself or your environment that you are not currently thinking about but you could be

subconscious level

information that we are not consciously aware of but we know must exist due to behavior

unconscious level

psychoanalytic psychologists believe some events and feelings are unacceptable to our conscious mind and are repressed into the unconscious mind

circadian rhythm

physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle

sleep onset

the period when we’re falling asleep, the stage between wakefulness and sleep

REM

stands for rapid eye movement; brain produces a period of intense activity; sometimes called paradoxical sleep

insomnia

having persistent problems getting to sleep or staying asleep at night

narcolepsy

suffer from periods of intense sleepiness and may fall asleep at unpredictable and inappropriate times

sleep apnea

causes a person to stop breathing for short periods of time during the night and causes the person to wake up slightly and gasp for air, then continue sleeping

night terrors

a sleep disorder in which a person quickly awakens from sleep in a terrified state, could be related to somnambulism (sleepwalking)

manifest content

the literal content of our dreams

latent content

the unconscious meaning of the manifest content

activation-synthesis theory

looks at dreams as biological phenomena and proposes that dreams could be nothing more than the brain’s interpretations of what is happening physiologically during REM sleep

information-processing theory

points out that stress during the day will increase the number and intensity of dreams during the night

posthypnotic amnesia

people report forgetting events that occurred while they were hypnotized

posthypnotic suggestion

a suggestion that a hypnotized person behave a certain way after he or she is brought out or hypnosis

role theory

states that hypnosis is not an alternate state of consciousness at all and points out that some people are more easily hypnotized than others, which is called **hypnotic suggestibility**

state theory

points out that hypnosis meets some parts of the definition for an altered state of consciousness

dissociation theory

developed by **Ernest Hilgard** and said that hypnosis causes us to divide our consciousness voluntarily. One part of our consciousness responds to the suggestions of the hypnotist while another part retains awareness of reality

Ernest Hilgard

developed dissociation theory

blood-brain barrier

the brain is protected from harmful chemicals in the bloodstream by thicker walls surrounding the brain’s blood vessels

agonists

the drugs that mimic neurotransmitters

antagonists

the drugs that block neurotransmitters

tolerance

a physiological change that produces a need for more of the same drug in order to achieve the same effect

withdrawal

the unpleasant physical reaction that accompanies the process of ceasing to take an addictive drug

stimulants

speed up body processes, including autonomic nervous system functions

depressants

slow down the same body systems

hallucinogens/psychedelics

cause changes in perceptions of reality, including sensory hallucinations, loss of identity, and vivid fantasies

reverse tolerance

repeated exposure to the same dose of a particular drug of abuse, a specific behavioral, physiological, or cellular response increases, rather than decreases, over time

opiates

a drug derived from a poppy plant and acts as agonists, so they are powerful painkillers