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Chapter 5:

Variations in Consciousness 01

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02 Consciousness: Personal Awareness

• Awareness of Internal and External Stimuli– Internal Awareness

• William James: stream of consciousness• Sigmund Freud: unconscious• Sleep/dreaming research

– External Awareness• Mere Exposure Effect: we prefer stimuli we have seen

before, even if we cannot remember seeing it. • Priming: We respond more quickly/accurately to questions

we seen before, even if we cannot remember hearing it.• Selective Attention: the focusing of conscious awareness on a

particular stimulus– Cocktail Party Effect

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02 Levels of Consciousness

• Levels of awareness– Conscious Level: Information about you & environment you are

aware of.– Nonconscious Level: Body process controlled by your mind

(heart beat/respiration)– Preconscious Level: Information about you & environment that

you are not currently thinking of but could be (recall easily)– Subconscious Level: Information that we are not consciously

aware of but we know must exist due to behavior (mere exposure effect/priming)

– Unconscious Level: Psychoanalytic psychologists believe some events/feelings are unacceptable to our conscious mind & are represented into the unconscious mind.

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03 The Electroencephalograph:A Physiological Index of Consciousness

• EEG – monitoring of brain electrical activity

• Brain-waves– Amplitude (height)

– Frequency• Beta (13-24 cps)• Alpha (8-12 cps)• Theta (4-7 cps)• Delta (<4 cps)

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05 Biological Rhythms and Sleep

• Circadian Rhythms: 24 hr biological cycles– Regulation of sleep/other body functions

(temp/metabolism)– Jet Lag: Disturbing your biological clock by going to sleep

at the wrong time. Best to travel west to east than east to west. It takes 1 day to make up for each time zone to cross.

• Physiological pathway of the biological clock:– Light levels retina suprachiasmatic nucleus of

hypothalamus pineal gland secretion of melatonin

• Melatonin: Hormone that helps adjust our biological clocks

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06 Sleep/Waking Research

• Instruments:– Electroencephalograph (EEG) – brain

electrical activity– Electromyograph (EMG)– muscle activity – Electrooculograph (EOG) – eye movements– Other bodily functions also observed

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07 Sleep Stages: Cycling Through Sleep

• Stage 1: brief, transitional (1-7 minutes)– alpha theta– hypnic jerks

• Stage 2: sleep spindles (10-25 minutes)• Stages 3 & 4: slow-wave sleep (30 minutes)• REM (Stage 5): rapid eye movement, EEG similar

to awake, vivid dreaming (first a few minutes, then longer as you sleep longer)– Repeat the cycle 4 times a night– NonREM: refers to all the stages that are not REM– Age decreases REM, Babies spend most sleep in REM

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Figure 5.5 An overview of the cycle of sleep08

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09 The Neural Bases of Sleep

• Brain Structures:– Ascending reticular activating system– Pons, medulla, thalamus, hypothalamus,

limbic system

• Neurotransmitters:– Acetylcholine and serotonin– Also norepinephrine, dopamine, and GABA

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12 Sleep Deprivation

• Complete deprivation– 3 or 4 days max

• Partial deprivation or sleep restriction– impaired attention, reaction time, coordination, and

decision making

• Selective deprivation– REM and slow-wave sleep– Rebound Effect: If lacking REM of SWS your body

will make up the following night with more time in that deficient sleep area.

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Figure 5.9 Effect of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance13

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14 Sleep Problems• Insomnia: Most common sleep disorder, increases with age, effects more women

then men. (Stress)1. Falling Asleep 2. Staying Asleep 3. Early Awakening

• Narcolepsy: Effect .001% of the population, falling asleep uncontrollably from awake to REM unpredictably.

• Sleep Apnea: 2nd most common, a person stops breathing (10 sec minimum) & reflexively gasps for air that awakens them.

• Nightmares: Anxiety arousing dreams that lead to awaking in REM. They remember the dream vividly.

• Night Terrors: Intense arousal and panic that awakens someone during NREM (accompanied by screaming). Effects children's ages 3-8. They cannot remember the dream.

• Somnambulism: Sleepwalking, occurs the first 2 hours of sleep, with no recollection

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Figure 5.11 The vicious cycle of dependence on sleeping pills15

Treatment: DrugsReduction in caffeineMore exercise early in the dayMeditation

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Figure 5.12 Sleep problems and the cycle of sleep16

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17 Dreams and Dreaming

• Dreams: mental experiences during sleep– Content usually familiar– Common themes– Waking life spillover: day residue

• Lucid Dreams: Dreams we are aware of & can control the storyline. External stimuli can be incorporated (alarm clock)

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17 Theories of Dreams

• Sigmund Freud: Dreams are wish fulfilling acted out by our unconscious desires. “day residue”, we must interpret repressed info.

• Cognitive Problem Solving: (Rosalind Cartwright) Dreams give opportunity to work through every day problems b/c dreams are not restrictive by logic or realism.

• Activation Synthesis: (Hobson & McCarley) Dreams are simple outburst of neurons firing in the lower brain centers.

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Figure 5.14 Three theories of dreaming18

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19 Hypnosis: Altered State of Consciousness or Role Playing?

• Hypnosis = a systematic procedure that increases suggestibility. 10% do not respond

• Hypnotic susceptibility: individuals who respond to suggestion & imaginative do well w/ hypnosis.

• Dissociation: splitting off mental processes into 2 simultaneous streams of awareness

• Effects produced through hypnosis:– Anesthesia– Sensory distortions and hallucinations– Disinhibition– Posthypnotic suggestions and amnesia

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20 Meditation

• Meditation = practices that train attention to heighten awareness and bring mental processes under greater voluntary control

• Yoga, Zen, transcendental meditation (TM)– Potential physiological benefits

• Similar to effective relaxation procedures• Heart rate, oxygen consumption & carbon dioxide

decline which leads to beneficial state.

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20 Drugs & Consciousness

• Psychoactive Drugs: a chemical substance that alters perception & alters moods

• Physical Dependence: a physiological need for a drug marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

• Psychological Dependence: a psychological need to use a drug for example, to relieve negative emotions.

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Tolerancediminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug

Withdrawaldiscomfort and distress that follow discontinued use of an addictive drug

20 Drug Tolerance

After repeatedexposure, moredrug is needed to produce same effect

Drug dose

Drug effect

Response tofirst exposure

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21 Psychoactive Drugs• Narcotics (Depressants): pain relieving, euphoria

(heroin/opiates)– Alcohol: produces relaxed euphoria, decreases in inhibitions – Side effects: lethargy, nausea, impaired motor & mental

functioning, depression• Sedatives: sleep inducing, decreases CNS (seconal)

– Side effects: drowsiness, mood swings, serve impairments in motor/mental functioning, depression

• Stimulants: increase CNS & behavior activity (cocaine/caffeine)– Side effects: restlessness, anxiety, paranoia & insomnia,

heart disease

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21 Psychoactive Drugs

• Hallucinogens: distort sensory and perceptual experience (LSD)– Side effects: can produce nightmarish feelings of anxiety &

paranoia• Cannabis: produce mild, relaxed euphoria (marijuana)

– Side effects: lowered sex hormones, disrupted memory, lung damage

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Table 5.3 Psychoactive Drugs: Tolerance, Dependence, Potential for

Fatal Overdose, and Health Risks22

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A Guide to Selected Psychoactive Drugs 22

Drug Type Pleasurable Effects Adverse Effects

Alcohol Depressant Initial high followed by Depression, memory loss, relaxation and disinhibition organ damage, impaired reactions

Heroin Depressant Rush of euphoria, relief Depressed physiology, from pain Agonizing withdrawal

Cocaine Stimulant Rush of euphoria, Cardiovascular stress, confidence, energy suspiciousness, depressive crash

Nicotine Stimulant Arouses and relaxes, sense Heart disease, cancer of well-being (from tars)

Marijuana Mild Enhances sensation, Lowered sex hormones, hallucinogen relieves pain, distorts time, disrupted memory, lung relaxed high damage