Chapter 7STATES OF

CONSCIOUSNESS

What does the film say about four characteristics of Consciousness? Its Personal Its Changing Its Selective Its Continuous

AN OCCURRENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE

WAKING CONSCIOUSNESS

Psychology began as the study of consciousness Scientifically diffi cult to

study Psychologists turned to

studying behavior By 1950’s it becomes known

as the Science of Behavior

Advances in technology Made possible to relate

brain activity to various mental states Waking, sleeping, and

dreaming

THE NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Conscious information processingEnables us to exert voluntary control and to communicate our mental states to others Slow and limited capacity

Beneath the surfaceFaster subconscious processing is taking place.

Example: First meeting someone

CONTRAST CONSCIOUSNESS AND SUBCONSCIOUS INFORMATION

PROCESSING

Nearly everyone has day dreams or waking fantasies Young adults spend

more time daydreaming Also admit to more sexual

fantasies

Most daydreams involve familiar details Can also be adaptive

Prepare for future events Substitute for impulsive

behavior

DAYDREAMS AND FANTASIES

SLEEP AND DREAMS

Varying periods of time cause psychological fluctuations in our biological rhythms Annual cycle

People experience seasonal variations in appetite, sleep length, and moods

Menstrual Cycle in Females Causes fluctuation in mood

Male 24 Hr. Cycle Varying alertness, body

temp, and hormone secretion

BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS

Our daily schedule or waking and sleep is based on a biological clock called then circadian rhythm

Each nights sleep has its own rhythmFrom Stage 1 to Stage 4 and back up REM sleep (Stage 5)

CYCLICAL NATURE OF SLEEP

STAGES OF SLEEP

10-15 percent of adults complain about insomnia

Other disorders Narcolepsy

Periodic, overwhelming sleepiness

Sleep Apnea Intermittently stop

breathing during sleep Night Terrors

Extreme paranoia or terror in Stage 1

Sleepwalking Name says it all

SLEEP DISORDERS

Most are ordinary events that relate to everyday experiences

Freud Dreams manifest content

is censored latent contentNew ideas about

dreams Help process and fix

information in our memory Serve a physiological

function Neural activates areas of

the brain that processes visual images

DREAMS

HYPNOSIS

A social interaction in which the hypnotist suggests to a subject that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts or behaviors will occur

Afterward subjects may experience posthypnotic amnesia

WHAT IS IT?

Subjects under hypnosis Reliving childhood

experiences (age regression)

Recall Although hypnotist beliefs

may interfere Temporarily therapeutic

(posthypnotic suggestion) Pain Relief

Explained through dissociation

**Can not be made to do things against their will

BEHAVIOR OF HYPNOTIZED PEOPLE

Not altered state argument Hypnosis is a by-product of

normal social and cognitive processes Behaviors produced can be done

without hypnosis Acting the role

Is an altered state argument Subjects carry out behaviors

on cue Pain relief and hallucenations

Ernest Hilgard: a hidden observer explains a subjects awareness of experiences that go unreported during hypnosis

HYPNOSIS AN ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS?

DRUGS AND CONSCIOUSNESS

DRUG DEPENDENCE

Psychoactive DrugsChemicals that change perceptions and moods Continued use creates

tolerance Cessation can produce

effects of withdrawal Pain of withdraw

indicates physical dependence

Psychological Dependence can occur especially with stress relieving drugs

Medical drugs, like pain killers, are powerfully addictive

Addictions can only be overcome through treatment

Addiction can extend to a large spectrum of pleasure seeking behaviors Overeating, excerise,

sex, surfing the net

THREE MYTHS OF DRUG ADDICTION

Depressants act by depressing neural functioningOffer pleasures but at the cost of impaired memory, self-awareness, and other physical consequences

Depressants:Alcholol, barbituates, opiates (vicodin)

DRUG TYPES: DEPRESSANTS

Stimulants act by stimulating neural functioningAct at the synapses by influencing the brains neurotransmitters

StimulantsNicotine, Caffeine, cocaine, meth, any amphetamine

DRUG TYPES: STIMULANTS

Hallucinogens distort the user’s judgment of time and can alter sensations and perceptions

Hallucinogens Marijuana (THC), LSD,

Peyote, mushrooms Ecstasy: Both a

stimulant and hallucinogen

DRUG TYPES: HALLUCINOGENS

NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE

1/3 of those who survive a brush with death recall a near-death experience Out-of-body sensations,

visions of tunnels, bright lights, feelings of love, joy, peace

Dualists Believe mind and body are

distinct entitiesMonists

Believe these are hallucinations and just the brain under stress