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Chapter 6:

States ofConsciousness

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History of Consciousness

1. Psychology began as a science of consciousness.

2. Behaviorists argued about alienating consciousness from psychology.

3. However, after 1960, mental concepts (consciousness) started reentering psychology.

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Consciousness, modern psychologists believe, is an awareness of ourselves and our environment.

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Selective Attention

Our conscious awareness processes only a small part of all that we

experience. We intuitively make use of the information we are not consciously

aware of.

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Inattentional Blindness

Inattentional blindness refers to the inability to see an object or a person in our midst.

Simons & Chabris (1999) showed that half of the observers failed to see the gorilla-suited assistant in a ball passing game.

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Change Blindness

Change blindness is a form of inattentional blindness in which two-thirds of individuals giving directions failed to notice a change in

the individual asking for directions.

© 1998 Psychonomic Society Inc. Image provided courtesy of Daniel J. Simmons.

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Sleep & Dreams

Sleep – the irresistible tempter to whom we inevitably succumb.

Mysteries about sleep and dreams have just startedunraveling in sleep laboratories around the world.

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Biological Rhythms and SleepCircadian Rhythms occur on a 24-hour cycle and

include sleep and wakefulness. Termed our “biological clock,” it can be altered by artificial light.

Light triggers the suprachiasmatic nucleus to decrease

(morning) melatonin from the pineal glandand increase (evening) it at night fall.

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Measuring sleep: About every 90 minutes, we pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages.

Sleep Stages

Hank Morgan/ Rainbow

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Awake but Relaxed

When an individual closes his eyes but remains awake, his brain activity slows down to a large amplitude and slow, regular alpha waves (9-14

cps). A meditating person exhibits an alpha brain activity.

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During early, light sleep (stages 1-2) the brain enters a high-amplitude, slow, regular wave form called theta waves (5-8 cps). A person who is daydreaming shows theta activity.

Sleep Stages 1-2

Theta Waves

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During deepest sleep (stages 3-4), brain activity slows down. There are large-

amplitude, slow delta waves (1.5-4 cps).

Sleep Stages 3-4

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Stage 5: REM Sleep

After reaching the deepest sleep stage (4), the sleep cycle starts moving backward towards

stage 1. Although still asleep, the brain engages in low- amplitude, fast and regular beta waves (15-40 cps) much like awake-aroused state.

A person during this sleep exhibitsRapid Eye Movements (REM)

and reports vivid dreams.

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90-Minute Cycles During SleepWith each 90-minute cycle, stage 4 sleep decreases

and the duration of REM sleep increases.http://www.videojug.com/film/the-science-of-sleep-explained

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Why do we sleep?We spend one-third of

our lives sleeping.

If an individual remains awake for

several days, immune function and concentration

deteriorates and the risk of accidents

increases.

Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc./ C

orbis

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Sleep Deprivation

1. Fatigue and subsequent death.

2. Impaired concentration.

3. Emotional irritability.

4. Depressed immune system.

5. Greater vulnerability.

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Accidents

Frequency of accidents increase with loss of sleep

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Sleep Theories

1. Sleep Protects: Sleeping in the darkness when predators loomed about kept our ancestors out of harm’s way.

2. Sleep Recuperates: Sleep helps restore and repair brain tissue.

3. Sleep Helps Remembering: Sleep restores and rebuilds our fading memories.

4. Sleep and Growth: During sleep, the pituitary gland releases growth hormone. Older people release less of this hormone and sleep less.

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1. Insomnia: A persistent inability to fall asleep.

2. Narcolepsy: Overpowering urge to fall asleep that may occur while talking or standing up.

3. Sleep apnea: Failure to breathe when asleep.

Sleep Disorders

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Children are most prone to:

Night terrors: The sudden arousal from sleep with intense fear accompanied by physiological reactions (e.g., rapid heart rate, perspiration) which occur during Stage 4 sleep.

Sleepwalking: A Stage 4 disorder which is usually harmless and unrecalled the next day.

Sleeptalking: A condition that runs in families, like sleepwalking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2yfUL8uct0

Sleep Disorders

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Dreams

The link between REM sleep and dreaming

has opened up a new era of dream research.

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What We Dream

1. Negative Emotional Content: 8 out of 10 dreams have negative emotional content.

2. Failure Dreams: People commonly dream about failure, being attacked, pursued, rejected, or struck with misfortune.

3. Sexual Dreams: Contrary to our thinking, sexual dreams are sparse. Sexual dreams in men are 1 in 10; and in women 1 in 30.

Manifest Content: A Freudian term meaning the story line of dreams.

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Why We Dream

1. Wish Fulfillment: Sigmund Freud suggested that dreams provide a psychic safety valve to discharge unacceptable feelings. The dream’s manifest (apparent) content may also have symbolic meanings (latent content) that signify our unacceptable feelings.

2. Information Processing: Dreams may help sift, sort, and fix a day’s experiences in our memories.

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Why We Dream

3. Physiological Function: Dreams provide the sleeping brain with periodic stimulation to develop and preserve neural pathways. Neural networks of newborns are quickly developing; therefore, they need more sleep.

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Why We Dream

4. Activation-Synthesis Theory: Suggests that the brain engages in a lot of random neural activity. Dreams make sense of this activity.

5. Cognitive Development: Some researchers argue that we dream as a part of brain maturation and cognitive development.

All dream researchers believe we need REM sleep. Whendeprived of REM sleep and then allowed to sleep,

we show increased REM sleep called REM Rebound.

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Dream TheoriesSummary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv4lUSfxlfo&feature=PlayList&p=2D91CF9869A9D4F3&index=13

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Hypnosis

Hypnos: Greek god of sleep

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A social interaction in which one person

(the hypnotist) suggests to another

(the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will

spontaneously occur.

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Facts and Falsehood

Those who practice hypnosis agree that its power resides in the subject’s openness to suggestion.

Can anyone experience hypnosis? Yes, to some extent.

Can hypnosis enhance recall of forgotten events?

No.

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Facts and Falsehood

Can hypnosis be therapeutic?Yes. Self-suggestion

can heal too.

Can hypnosis alleviate pain?Yes. Lamaze can

do that too.

Can hypnosis force people to act against their will?

No.

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Explaining the Hypnotized State

1.Social Influence Theory: Hypnotic subjects may simply be imaginative actors playing a social role.

2.Divided Consciousness Theory: Hypnosis is a special state of dissociated (divided) consciousness (Hilgard, 1986, 1992).

(Hilgard, 1992)

Courtesy of N

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Drugs and Consciousness

Psychoactive Drug: A chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood (affects

consciousness).

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Dependence & Addiction

Continued use of a psychoactive drug

produces tolerance. With repeated

exposure to a drug, the drug’s effect lessens. Thus it takes greater

quantities to get the desired effect.

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Withdrawal & Dependence

1. Withdrawal: Upon stopping use of a drug (after addiction), users may experience the undesirable effects of withdrawal.

2. Dependence: Absence of a drug may lead to a feeling of physical pain, intense cravings (physical dependence), and negative emotions (psychological dependence).

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Misconceptions About Addiction

1. Addictive drugs quickly corrupt.

2. Addiction cannot be overcome voluntarily.

3. Addiction is no different than repetitive pleasure-seeking behaviors.

Addiction is a craving for a chemical substance, despite its adverse

consequences (physical & psychological).

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Psychoactive Drugs

Psychoactive drugs are divided into three groups.

1. Depressants 2. Stimulants3. Hallucinogen

s

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Depressants

Depressants are drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions. They include:

1. Alcohol 2. Barbiturat

es3. Opiates

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Depressants

1. Alcohol affects motor skills, judgment, and memory…and increases aggressiveness while reducing self awareness.

Drinking and Driving

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Depressants

2. Barbiturates: Drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment. Nembutal, Seconal, and Amytal are some examples.

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Depressants

3. Opiates: Opium and its derivatives (morphine and heroin) depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety. They are highly addictive.

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StimulantsStimulants are drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions. Examples of stimulants are:

1. Caffeine 2. Nicotine3. Cocaine4. Ecstasy5. Amphetamines6. Methamphetamines

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Caffeine & Nicotine

Caffeine and nicotine increase heart and breathing rates and other autonomic

functions to provide energy.

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Why Do People Smoke?

1. People smoke because it is socially rewarding.2. Smoking is also a result of genetic factors.

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Why Do People Smoke?

3. Nicotine takes away unpleasant cravings (negative reinforcement) by triggering epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and endorphins.

4. Nicotine itself is rewarding (positive reinforcement).

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Cocaine

Cocaine induces immediate euphoria followed by a crash. Crack, a form of cocaine, can be smoked.

Other forms of cocaine can be sniffed or injected.

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Ecstasy

Ecstasy or Methylenedioxymethamph

etamine (MDMA) is a stimulant and mild

hallucinogen. It produces a euphoric high and can

damage serotonin-producing neurons, which

results in a permanent deflation of mood and

impairment of memory.

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Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens are psychedelic (mind-manifesting) drugs

that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the

absence of sensory input.

Ronald K

. Siegel

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Hallucinogens

1. LSD: (lysergic acid diethylamide) powerful hallucinogenic drug that is also known as acid.

2. THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol): is the major active ingredient in marijuana (hemp plant) that triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations.

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After a close brush with death, many people report an

experience of moving through a dark tunnel with a light at the end. Under the influence of hallucinogens, others report bright lights at

the center of their field of vision.

Near-Death Experiences

(From “H

allucinations” by R.K

. Siegel. Copyright

© 1977 Scientific A

merican, Inc. A

ll rights reserved.)

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DrugsSummary

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Influences on Drug Use

The graph below shows the percentage of US high- school seniors reporting their use of alcohol,

marijuana, and cocaine from the 70s to the late 90s.

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Influences on Drug Use

The use of drugs is based on biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences.

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Marijuana Use

The use of marijuana in teenagers is directly related to the “perceived risk” involved with the drug.

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Influence for Drug Prevention and Treatment

1.Education about the long-term costs

2.Efforts to boost people’s self-esteem and purpose

3.Attempts to modify peer associations and teaching refusal skills

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Trivia Time

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1. While out for a bike ride, you can think about what you’ll make for dinner rather than concentrate on how to operate the bicycle. This illustrates:

A. parallel processing.

B. Sigmund Freud’s concept of the unconscious.

C. the function of delta waves.

D. somnambulism.

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2. Staying up especially late on weekends is most likely to have an

influence on:

A. narcolepsy.

B. sleep apnea.

C. the circadian rhythm.

D. seasonal affective disorder.

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3. Carrie’s EEG shows sleep spindles. Which stage of sleep is she in?

A. stage 1

B. stage 2

C. stage 3

D. REM

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4. Those who complain of insomnia typically _______ how long it actually takes them to fall asleep and ________

how long they actually slept.

A. underestimate; overestimate

B. overestimate; underestimate

C. underestimate; underestimate

D. overestimate; overestimate

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5. The experience of insomnia following discontinued use of a psychoactive drug

best illustrates:

A. narcolepsy.

B. withdrawal.

C. REM rebound.

D. dissociation.

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6. A modern theory of dreams suggests that dreams help us to fix the day’s experiences into memories. This is known as the

___________ theory of dreams.

A. information processing

B. physiological function

C. activation-synthesis

D. cognitive developmental

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7. The social influence theory of hypnosis receives support from evidence

that:

A. behaviors produced through hypnotic procedures can also be produced without them.

B. hypnotized subjects have a hidden observer.

C. easily hypnotized individuals have difficulty focusing attention on their own thoughts and feelings.

D. very few people are at all responsive to hypnotic suggestions.

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8. Court systems frequently ban testimony from witnesses who have been hypnotized

because the procedure often encourages:

A. a hidden observer.

B. hallucinations.

C. narcolepsy.

D. false memories.

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9. In order to help patients control their undesired symptoms or unhealthy behaviors, clinicians would be most likely to make use

of:

A. dissociation.

B. REM rebound.

C. posthypnotic suggestion.

D. hypnogogic sensations.

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10. Which of the following is NOT

classified as a stimulant?

A. heroin

B. ecstasy

C. cocaine

D. methamphetamine

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11. After Scott builds up a sleep debt, you

would expect him to:

A. have increased insomnia.

B. experience less REM sleep for several nights.

C. show the paradoxical effect of being more alert during his waking hours.

D. get more sleep for several nights until the debt is paid off.

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12. Your friend insists that she rarely has dreams. What is the most likely explanation for this situation?

A. She probably has dreams every night, but only rarely remembers her dreams.

B. She probably uses barbiturates to help her sleep every night.

C. This is normal; most people never dream.

D. She stays up too late at night and gets up too early in the morning.

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13. Alex complains of chronic insomnia. He has had a medical check-up and is healthy, yet he has difficulty falling asleep. What is

the best advice you can give in this situation? A. Have a glass of wine right before bedtime.

B. Go to the doctor and get a prescription for sleeping pills.

C. Go to bed at the same time every evening and wake up at the same time in the morning.

D. Do some strenuous exercise right before going to bed.

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14. Your young child wakes up a few nights per month seemingly in a panic. She sits up in bed screaming and crying. You rush in to calm her and to see what is happening. The child usually returns to sleep and doesn’t remember this happening at all. What is the best explanation for this behavior?

A. She may be exhibiting symptoms of early onset epilepsy.

B. She has excessive anxiety during the day.

C. She has too much sugar in her diet.

D. She is probably experiencing night terrors, a fairly common event in early childhood.

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15. What advice would you give to a friend who is attempting to learn a foreign language by listening to tapes while she sleeps?

A. Make sure the volume is turned up enough to hear it well during sleep.

B. Make sure the volume isn’t loud enough to interfere with your ability to relax.

C. Make sure there is music, such as Mozart, playing as well because it is known to enhance learning during sleep.

D. Don’t spend your money on the tapes, because we don’t remember information we’ve heard while asleep.