Psychology
Warm Up
November 7, 2011
Get together your Unit 3 Notebook.
1. Warm Ups Unit 3
2. Threshold Notes (from book)
3. Eye ball graph/psych sim “The Auditory System”
4. The Ear diagram
5. Video guide 1 – Touch, Taste, Smell
6. Video guide 2 – Perception
**Please let me know if there’s something I’ve missed that you think I
should be taking up.
The Study of Consciousness
• Main Idea – Consciousness, the awareness of
things that are both inside and outside ourselves,
is an elusive but essential subject of study for
psychologist.
• Question – Why is consciousness a psychological
construct?
• Question – What are the general meaning of
consciousness?
• Question – What distinguishes the different levels
of consciousness from full consciousness
awareness?
Consciousness as a Construct
• Construct – the study of
something (in
psychology) by
scientists
(psychologists).
• Consciousness awareness of things
inside and outside
ourselves.
• Psychologists believe
your cannot capture the
true human experience
without understanding
consciousness.
Meaning of
Consciousness
• Multiple meanings for sensory
awareness.
• Consciousness means awareness
but is used in multiple ways.
• Sensory Awareness – you are constantly aware of
what’s going on around you because of your senses.
• (ie the smell of pizza, teacher’s voice, seeing the notes
on the board.)
• Selective Attention – focusing on a particular stimulus.
This make your senses more keen and you become
aware (conscious) of changes in the room.
• To pay attention in class you must tune out the rustling
of papers, moving of chairs, pencil sharpener.
Meaning of
Consciousness
• Imagine jumping into a lake or
swimming pool on a hot day. Can
you feel the cool water around
you?
• You are not directly experiencing
this, you do know what it feels
like.
• Direct Inner Awareness – feeling of emotions,
thoughts, memories, etc. that your are aware of but
not directly experiencing.
– Ie. feeling angry when a friend says something upsetting,
remembering how the cool water of pool/lake feels on a
hot day, etc.
Meaning of
Consciousness
• Have you ever noticed
how young children
refer to themselves by
their names?
• Consciousness as sense of self – aware
of ourselves and our surroundings.
• Eventually young children become
aware of themselves and their
surrounding and hoe each are impacted
by actions.
Different Levels of Consciousness
1. Consciousness – being
aware of your thoughts
and perceptions.
2. Pre-consciousness– ideas
are not in your awareness,
but you could recall them.
(What happened at school
yesterday? What did you
have to eat for dinner last
night? Etc.)
3. Unconsciousness levels –
unavailable to awareness
under most circumstances.
(You may not want to go to
something you made plans
to attend, a party. As you
get ready you are constantly
distracted. You are
distracted b/c you were
UNAWARE you didn’t want
to attend the party.)
Different Levels of Consciousness
4. Non-consciousness
level – basic biological
level.
Your fingernails or hair
growing, pupils growing
larger or smaller adjusting
to light, etc.
5. Altered states of
consciousness – person’s
sense of self or world view
changes.
Sleep is one example when you doze of you are
no longer aware of what’s
going on around you.
Meditation, drugs and
hypnosis are other
examples.
Freud’s Levels of
Consciousness
Conscious Level
Preconscious Level
Unconscious Level
Fill in examples under each
of the following sections.
Dream Journal
On a separate sheet of paper write the following, leaving space in between.
Sunday
Time Asleep
Time Awake
How did I sleep?
Did I dream about anything?
Monday
Time Asleep
Time Awake
How did I sleep?
Did I dream about anything?
Tuesday
Time Asleep
Time Awake
How did I sleep?
Did I dream about anything?
Wednesday
Time Asleep
Time Awake
How did I sleep?
Did I dream about anything?