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States ofConsciousness

Chapter 6

What level of awareness occurs at the preconscious, unconscious, and non-conscious

levels?

Awareness is limited at these three levels. At the preconscious level, ideas that a person is not aware of at a certain time can be recalled. A person can sometimes become aware of ideas at the unconscious level. A person can never be conscious of things that are occurring at the non-conscious level.

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“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their

attitudes of mind.” William James (1842-1910)

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) The Flying Carriage, 1913

States of Consciousness

Waking Consciousness

Selective Attention

Levels of Information Processing

Sleep and Dreams

Biological Rhythms and Sleep

Why Do We Sleep?

Sleep Disorders

Dreams

Hypnosis Facts and Falsehoods Explaining the

Hypnotized State

Drugs and Consciousness Dependence and

Addiction Psychoactive Drugs Influences on Drug

Use

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Biological Rythms

A human body changes over the course of a day, a week, or a year.

Biological rhythmsA periodic, more or less regular fluctuation in a biological system; may or may not have psychological implications

ex: sleep/awake rhythms, body temperature; hibernating bears; stomach contractions; hormone fluctuations

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How does biofeedback work?

• How does biofeedback work? During biofeedback training, a person is hooked up to a computer that monitors a particular bodily behavior. The biofeedback system does not affect the behavior, it only shows the person when his or her own efforts have been effective in controlling involuntary behavior.

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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 gland

and 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

Stages of Sleep

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Stage 1. Feel self drifting on the edge of consciousness

Stage 2. Minor noises won’t disturb you

Stage 3. Breathing and pulse have slowed down

Stage 4. Deep sleep

REM. Increased eye movement, loss of muscle tone, dreaming

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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.

Stages of Sleep

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The first 4 stage takes about 30-40 minutes, then you move back up.

Normal sleep cycle: 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1, rapid eye movement (REM)

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Describe the stages of the sleep cycle.

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There are five stages of sleep. Stage 1 is a light sleep during which the brain waves slow down from alpha waves to theta waves. During this stage the sleeper often dreams of vivid images. This stage lasts for about 30 to 40 minutes. Stages 2, 3, and 4 follow. Deep sleep, accompanied by slow delta waves, occurs during stages 3 and 4. Stage 4 sleep lasts about an hour, then the dreamer goes through stages 3, 2, and 1 again. Then, rapid-eye-movement sleep occurs, when breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate increases and the most vivid dreams occur.

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90-Minute Cycles During Sleep

With each 90-minute cycle, stage 4 sleep decreases and the duration of REM sleep increases.

Typical night’s sleep for a young adult

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Why do we sleep?We spend one-third of

our lives sleeping.

•To eliminate waste products from muscles•To repair cells•To strengthen the immune system•To recover abilities lost during the day

Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc./ C

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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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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.

Sleep Disorders

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Describe three common sleep problems and their causes.

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Insomnia, or difficulty falling asleep, is a common sleep problem that is brought on by anxiety or tension. Nightmares caused by upsetting events, anxiety, or depression can also disrupt sleep.

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Night terrors and sleepwalking usually happen to children whose nervous system may not be fully developed. Sleep apnea is a breathing interruption that occurs when a person's air passages are blocked. Narcolepsy is a rare sleep problem in which people fall asleep no matter what time it is or where they are. It is thought to be a genetic disorder.

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Dreams

The link between REM sleep and dreaming

has opened up a new era of dream research.

REM Sleep

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• Also known as paradoxical sleep• Active brain waves• Increased heart rate and blood pressure,

limp muscles, twitching• Dreaming• REM and non-REM sleep cycle

throughout the night• The purpose of REM sleep is unclear

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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

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How did Sigmund Freud explain dreams?

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How did Sigmund Freud explain dreams? Freud believed that dreams reflect a person's unconscious wishes and urges, especially unacceptable or painful ones. Freud thought that dreams contain symbols that give people an acceptable way of dealing with subjects that they cannot deal with on a conscious level.

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

Forms of ConsciousnessB

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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.