Awake, Sleep, and Dreams
STATES 0F CONSCIOUSNESS
Consciousness
 Originally psychology was known as the
science of describing and explaining the state
of consciousness
 Due to difficulty, behaviorism formed during the
early 1900s
 Behaviorism: the view that psychology should be an
objective science that studies behavior without
reference to mental processes
Consciousness
 Consciousness: our awareness of ourselves
and our environment
 It is the visible surface of our brain’s
information processing
 Complex behavior becomes easy to follow
because of our consciousness
Levels of Processing
 Subconscious can react to stimuli we do not
consciously perceive
 Parallel processing: subconscious ability to carry
out multiple processes at the same time
Levels of Processing
 Kosslyn and Koenig correlates
consciousness with playing a guitar
 Conscious awareness of the guitar being
played is slower than the notes being played
Levels of Processing
 Conscious processing takes place in
sequence
 Consciousness is slower when compared
to other functions (subconscious)
 Consciousness has limited capacity
 Consciousness is good at solving
problems because many problems
require your full attention
Daydreams and Fantasies
 An altered state of consciousness when a
person who is not completely aware of
their surroundings or actions
 Psychologist J.L. Singer reported that
everyone has daydreams or waking
fantasies
 What do young adults mostly
daydream about?
Daydreams and Fantasies
 Most daydreaming involves various aspects
of a person’s life
 Rehearsing a situation (looking-glass self)
 Some individuals, 4% of the population, have
fantasy prone personalities
 Many of these report profound mystical or
religious experiences
Daydreams and Fantasies
 ~When I examined myself, and my methods of
thought, I came to the conclusion that the gift of
fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for
absorbing positive knowledge.
 -Singer
 ~Imagination is more important than knowledge.
For knowledge is limited to all we now know and
understand, while imagination embraces the
entire world, and all there ever will be to know and
understand.
-ALBERT EINSTEIN
Biorhythms
 Biological Rhythms: Periodic physiological
fluctuations controlled by our internal
biological clocks
 Examples:
 Annual Cycles
 28 day cycles
 24 hours cycle
 90 minute cycle (sleep)
Biorhythms
 Circadian Rhythms: Biological clock; regular
body rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle
 Keeps flow to our life
 Some things throw off our rhythm:
 Pulling an all nighter
 Feel groggiest between 3 and 4am
 Jet lag
 We are sharpest when we are at the peak of
circadian arousal
Sleep
 An essential state of consciousness which
involves four stages and a period of
dreaming.
 We are not completely sure why we sleep…
 Ideas (write down a few) CHECK THESE
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Satisfy our own wishes
Develop & preserve neural pathways
To make sense of neural static
Reflect cognitive development
Primitive hibernation
Sleep is an adaptive process
Clear our minds of useless information/ File
Sleep Cycle
 Sleep cycle last 90-100 minutes depending on
the night and person
 The person does not realize they are asleep until
they wake up
 Four stages of sleep
 During sleep we go through five stages
 NREM stages:
 Stage 1
 Stage 2
 Stage 3
 Stage 4
 REM Sleep is a separate stage
Stages of sleep
 Stage 1 of Sleep
 Lasts roughly 5 minutes
 Alpha waves began to occur
 Slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
 Hallucinations may occur
 Sensation of falling can occur
Stages of sleep
 Stage 2
 Lasts 20 minutes
 Sleep Spindles occur
 Bursts of rapid rhythmic brain activity
 Sleep talking can occur
Stages of sleep
 Stages 3 and 4
 Stage 3 is a transitional stage into stage 4
 Delta Waves
 Large slow brain waves associated with sleep
 Still realize stimuli even when asleep
 Process most information outside of consciousness
Stages of sleep
 REM Sleep (Rapid Eye Movement)
 Typically begins an hour after falling asleep
 Prior to moving back into stage 1 of sleep,
REM sleep occurs
Stages of sleep
 Characteristics of REM Sleep
 Sexually aroused
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 Regardless of dream content (unless dream
is scary)
Brainstem blocks messages to motor cortex
Also known as the paradoxical sleep
 Internally aroused but externally calm
Dream during REM
 Emotional and story like but not acted out
Repeats every 90 minutes
 100 minute dedicated to REM sleep per night
The Effects of Sleep Loss
 Less energy
 Lower levels of functioning
 Weight Gain
 Lack of sleep increases ghrelin and decreases
leptin
 Suppresses the immune system
 Chronic sleep loss alters metabolic and
hormonal functioning
Sleep Disorders (write something!)
 Insomnia
 Recurring problem in staying or falling asleep
 Narcolepsy
 Uncontrollable sleep attacks
 Sleep apnea
 Temporary cessations of breathing during sleep
and repeated momentary awakenings
 Night terrors
 Stage 4 dreams characterized by high arousal and an
appearance of being terrified
 REM Behavior Disorder
 Patients act out dramatic/violent dreams during REM sleep.
 Acetylcholine not blocked - communicating that body movement
is okay
Hypnosis
 Hypnosis: a social interaction in which one
person suggests to another that certain
perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors
will spontaneously occur
Hypnotic Induction
 Inducing deep relaxation, followed by deep
breathing
 Scripts such as counting backwards from 100
 Eye fixation on still or moving objects
The Hypnotic State
 sleep like state but EEG does not
resemble any sleep stage
 normal function reduced, person tends
to wait for instruction
 attention becomes highly selective
 role playing is easily accomplished
Hypnosis Theories
 A form of deep relaxation
 Brain waves resembles transitional and waking
states (beta/alpha waves)
 Purely Social
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Belief that it reflects the workings of normal
consciousness & the power of social influence
 Not consciously faking, but subjects begin to feel
& behave in ways appropriate for a “good subject”
 A Divided Consciousness
 Hypnosis involves social influence but also a
special state of dissociation- a split between
different levels of consciousness.
Phenomena of Hypnosis (write
a few)
 Altered senses (i.e. hear, feel, see things
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when prompted to do so)
Respond to posthypnotic suggestions
Altered pain perception
Age regression
Posthypnotic enhancement
Force people to act against their will
Meditation
 Altered state of consciousness (alpha)
 Many different techniques
 Chanting
 Breathing (controlled)
 Body positioning
 Rhythmic music/dance
 Spending time on self-awareness
Zazen
 In Zazen correct posture is paramount. Back straight.
Nose in line with the navel, ears squared with shoulders,
chin tucked slightly. Lips are closed, teeth together, and
the tip of your tongue is resting peacefully at the roof of
your mouth, just behind the front teeth. This is the
position the Buddha was in when he received
enlightenment. Start by counting your breaths: one,
two…; however, if a thought intrudes upon your counting
and you say to yourself, "Oh good, now I'm up to three
breaths with no thinking," then you have to go back to
one since the aim is not to think about anything (because
of this most beginners count "One, one, one..."). Zazen
may sound hard to do with all its emphasis on discipline,
but it will become relaxing in time.
Koan
 A koan is a tool of meditation. It is a riddle or
question that has no answer. Its purpose is to
provoke concentration and self-control.
Remember there are no right or wrong
answers. Here are two examples of a koan:
 *What is the sound of one hand clapping?
 *What did your face look like before your
parents were born?
Sleep Theories
 Five theories on why we sleep:
 Sleep protects
 a species sleep pattern tends to match its ecological
niche
 Sleep helps us recuperate
 Sleep helps make memories
 Sleep improves and feeds creative thinking
 Sleep plays a role in the growth process
Theories on Hypnosis
 Neodissociative Theory (Hilgard 1991 - (most
popular view of those that believe in
Hypnosis)
 Most people can separate one part of the
mind from another (e.g. driving from point A
to B - how did I get here?)
 Hidden observer (i.e. part of the conscious
mind that looks out for you under hypnosis)
Theories on Hypnosis
 Epiphenomenon - exists as outcome of other
process - Social psychology explains it as role
playing - However, in trying to explain it away
they give it some credence (e.g.
Sociocognitive Theory, Spanos, 1991)
Theories on Hypnosis