Laura A. King "The Science of Psychology" Chapter 5

stream of consciousness

used to describe the mind as a continuous flow of changing sensations, images, thoughts, and feelings

consciousness

an individual's awareness of external events and internal sensations under a condition of arousal, including awareness of the self and thoughts about one's experiences

theory of mind

individual's understanding that they and others think, feel, perceive, and have private experiences

awareness

the subjective state of being conscious of what is going on

global brain workspace

an assembly of neurons that are thought to work in cooperation to produce the subjective sense of consciousness

controlled processes

the most alert states of human consciousness, during which individuals actively focus their efforts toward a goal

executive function

higher-order, complex cognitive processes, including thinking, planning, and problem solving

cognitive control

the capacity to maintain attention by reducing interfering thought and being cognitively flexible

automatic processes

states of consciousness that require little attention and do not interfere with other ongoing activities

biological rhythms

periodic psychological fluctuations in the body, such as the rise and fall of hormones and accelerated and decelerated cycles of brain activity, that can influence behavior

circadian rhythms

daily behavioral or psychological cycles that include the sleep/wake cycle, body temperature, blood pressure, and blood sugar level

suprachaismatic nucleus (SCN)

a small brain structure that uses input from the retina to synchronize its own rhythm with the daily cycle of light and dark; the body's way of monitoring the change from day to night

somnambulism

sleepwalking

manifest content

the surface content of a dream, containing dream symbols that disguise the dream's true meaning

latent content

a dream's hidden content; its unconscious and true meaning

cognitive theory of dreaming

dreaming can be understood by applying the same cognitive concepts used to study the waking mind

activation-synthesis

theory that dreaming occurs when the cerebral cortex synthesizes neural signals generated from activity in the lower part of the brain and that dreams result from the brain's attempts to find logic in random brain activity that occurs during sleep

tolerance

the need to take increasing amounts of a drug to get the same effect

physical dependence

the physiological need for a drug that causes unpleasant withdrawal symptoms

psychological dependence

the strong desire to repeat the use of a drug for emotional reasons, such as reduction of stress

addiction

dependence on a drug

depressants

psychoactive drugs that slow down mental and physical activity; alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers, opiates

stimulants

psychoactive drugs - including caffeine, nicotine, and cocaine - that increase the central nervous system's activity

hallucinogens

psychoactive drugs that modify a person's perceptual experiences and produce visual images that are not real; weed, LSD