States of
Consciousness
Chapter 7
1
History of Consciousness
1. Psychology began as a science of
consciousness.
2. Behaviorists rejected consciousness, instead
concentrating on direct observations of
behavior.
3. However, after 1960, mental concepts
(consciousness) started reentering psychology.
4. Currently cognitive psychologists and others
have returned to a study of consciousness.
2
Forms of Consciousness
AP Photo/ Ricardo Mazalan
Stuart Franklin/ Magnum Photos
Christine Brune
Bill Ling/ Digital Vision/ Getty Images
Consciousness, modern psychologists believe, is
an awareness of ourselves and our environment.
3
Consciousness Terminology – Give
Examples of Each:
• Conscious—what you are aware of
• Nonconscious—totally removed from
consciousness
• Preconscious—outside of awareness, but
easily brought to mind
• Unconscious or subconscious—level of
mental activity that influences consciousness
4
but is not conscious
Consciousness
• Experiments show consciousness lagging
behind the brain events that evoke it.
• Thus decision making can be at the
unconscious level before the conscious level
5
Consciousness & Information
Processing
The unconscious mind processes information
simultaneously on multiple tracks, while the conscious
mind processes information sequentially.
Conscious mind
Unconscious mind
6
Biological Rhythms
Biological rhythms are controlled by
internal “biological clocks.”
1. Annual cycles: On an annual cycle, geese
migrate, grizzly bears hibernate, and humans
experience seasonal variations in appetite,
sleep, and mood. Seasonal Affective Disorder
(SAD) is a mood disorder people experience
during dark winter months.
7
Biological Rhythms
2. 28-day cycles: The
female menstrual
cycle averages 28
days. Research
shows menstruation
may not affect
moods.
8
Biological Rhythms
3. 24-hour cycles: Humans experience 24-hour
cycles of varying alertness (sleep), body
temperature, and growth hormone secretion.
4. 90-minute cycles: We go through various stages
of sleep in 90-minute cycles.
9
Rhythm of Sleep
Illustration © Cynthia Turner 2003
Circadian Rhythms occur on a 24-hour cycle and
include sleep and wakefulness, which are
disrupted during transcontinental flights.
Light triggers the suprachiasmatic nucleus to decrease
(morning) melatonin from the pineal gland
and increase (evening) it at night fall.
10
Sleep Rhythms
• Light activates light-sensitive retinal proteins,
which trigger signals to a brain region that
controls the circadian clock.
• Most young adults adopt a 25 hour day. Does
this apply to you? What is the effect? Are you
a sleep zombie?
11
Sleep Deprivation
1. Fatigue and subsequent death.
2. Impaired concentration.
3. Emotional irritability.
4. Depressed immune system.
5. Greater vulnerability.
12
Why do we sleep?
• Sleep debt: brain will keep an accurate count
for up to 2 weeks
• Large sleep debt: “makes you stupid”
13
Sleep Stages
Measuring sleep: About every 90 minutes, we
pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages.
Hank Morgan/ Rainbow
14
Awake & Alert
During strong mental engagement, the brain
exhibits low amplitude and fast, irregular beta
waves (15-30 cps). An awake person involved in a
conversation shows beta activity.
Beta Waves
15
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.
16
Sleep Stages 1-2
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.
Theta Waves
17
Sleep Stages 3-4
During deepest sleep (stages 3-4), brain activity
slows down. There are large-amplitude, slow
delta waves (1.5-4 cps).
18
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 lowamplitude, fast and regular beta waves (15-40 cps)
much like awake-aroused state.
A person during this sleep exhibits
Rapid Eye Movements (REM)
and reports vivid dreams.
19
90-Minute Cycles During Sleep
With each 90-minute cycle, stage 4 sleep decreases
and the duration of REM sleep increases.
20
REM Sleep
• Retrace 1-2-3-4-3-2—REM (90 minutes)/then
repeat
• REM—active sleep
– Resembles awake state
– Paralysis due to relaxed muscles
– Paradoxical Sleep—body internally aroused and
externally calm
21
Sleep Theories
1. Sleep Protects: Sleeping in the darkness when
predators loomed about kept our ancestors out
of harm’s way.
2. Sleep Recuperates: Sleep helps restore and
repair brain tissue.
3. Sleep Helps Remembering: Sleep restores and
rebuilds our fading memories.
4. Sleep and Growth: During sleep, the pituitary
gland releases growth hormone. Older people
release less of this hormone and sleep less.
22
Sleep Disorders
1.
Sleep Walking (Somnabulism) and Sleep Talking (Stage 4
Disorders):
Tends to run in families
Children most prone, rare after 40
Usually harmless and unrecalled
Those who have the deepest and lengthiest Stage 4 are the most likely
to experience
2. Nightmares: Frightening dreams that wake a sleeper from
REM.
3. Night terrors: Sudden arousal from sleep with intense fear
accompanied by physiological reactions (e.g., rapid heart
rate, perspiration) Occur during Stage 4 Sleep, within 2 or 3
hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered.
23
Sleep Disorders
Narcolepsy: Overpowering urge to fall asleep that may
occur while talking or standing up.
Usually lasts less than 5 minutes
Rarely, may collapse into brief period of REM sleep
Caused by an absence of a hypothalamic neural center that
produces a neurotransmitter called hypocretin
Sleep apnea: Failure to breathe when asleep.
Mostly overweight men
Often unaware
Risk factors: snores, feels tired during the day, high blood
pressure
24
Sleep Disorders
6. Insomnia: persistent problems in falling or staying
asleep
Effect of Stress: One less hour
Age: from middle age on, sleep is usually
interrupted
•
We typically overestimate the amount of time
(double) it takes to fall back to sleep and
underestimate the length of time we sleep.
•
How can you combat insomnia?
25
Sleep Disorders
7. SIDS – SUDDEN INFANT DEATH
SYNDROME
How can SIDS be prevented?
8. REM Behavior Disorder (not in text):
Paralysis normal during REM does not exist
May “act out” dreams
Generally men
9. Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome:
26
Cannot fall asleep or wake up at appropriate times
Why do we dream?
Sigmund Freud suggested that dreams provide a
psychic safety valve to discharge unacceptable
feelings.
a.The dream’s manifest (apparent) content may also have
symbolic meanings (latent content) that signify our
unacceptable feelings. “Royal road to the unconscious”
b. Fulfillment of wishes, esp erotic wishes
Information Processing: Dreams may help sift, sort, and
fix a day’s experiences in our memories.
27
Why do 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.
28
Why do we dream?
4.
Activation-Synthesis Theory: Suggests that the brain
engages in a lot of random neural activity. Dreams make
sense of this activity. (Hobson and McCarley)
5.
Cognitive Development: Some researchers argue that we
dream as a part of brain maturation and cognitive
development.
Limbic System is active (emotion), frontal lobe
(inhibition, rational thought) is idle during REM
All dream researchers believe we need REM sleep. When
deprived of REM sleep and then allowed to sleep,
we show increased REM sleep called REM Rebound.
29
Dream Theories
Summary
30
Hypnosis
http://iddiokrysto.blog.excite.it
A social interaction in
which one person (the
hypnotist) suggests to
another (the subject)
that certain
perceptions, feelings,
thoughts, or behaviors
will spontaneously
occur.
Hypnos: Greek god of sleep
31
Who can be hypnotized?
• Susceptibility: degree to which people
respond to hypnotic suggestion:
– 10-15% are excellent subjects
– 10% difficult or impossible
– 75-80% between extremes
32
Characteristics while hypnotized
(Bernstein)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reduced planfulness
Attention is redistributed
Ability to fantasize is enhanced
Reduced reality testing
Good at role taking
Posthypnotic amnesia
33
Aspects of Hypnosis
Posthypnotic Suggestion: Suggestion carried out
after the subject is no longer hypnotized.
Posthypnotic Amnesia: Supposed inability to recall
what one experienced during hypnosis.
34
Facts and Falsehood
Those who practice hypnosis agree that its power
resides in the subject’s openness to suggestion.
Can anyone experience hypnosis?
Yes, to some extent.
Can hypnosis enhance recall of
forgotten events?
No.
35
Facts and Falsehood
Can hypnosis force people to act
against their will?
No.
Can hypnosis be therapeutic?
Yes. Self-suggestion
can heal too.
Can hypnosis alleviate pain?
Yes. Lamaze can
do that too.
36
Hypnosis (continued)
• Can hypnosis force people to act against
their will?
– Research with control groups shows no
evidence
– Shows how most people can be induced by
an authoritative person to commit unlikely
acts.
37
Is Hypnosis an Altered State of
Consciousness?
Courtesy of News and Publications Service, Stanford University
Social Influence Theory:
Hypnotic subjects may simply
be imaginative actors playing a
social role.
Divided Consciousness Theory:
Hypnosis is a special state of
dissociated (divided)
consciousness (Hilgard, 1986,
1992).
(Hilgard, 1992)
38
Mimi Forsyth
Both Theories
39
MEDITATION – DEEP
RELAXATION
• Definition: a set of
techniques designed
to create an altered
state of
consciousness
characterized by inner
peace and tranquility.
40
Meditation—Deep Relaxation (con’t)
•
•
•
•
Methods
Focusing—narrowing attention to just one
thing long enough for person meditating to
stop thinking about anything and to
experience nothing but pure awareness
Quiet environment
Mental Device (e.g.—mantra)
Passive Attitude
41
Meditation—Deep Relaxation (con’t)
What Happens:
•
Decreased respiration, heart rate, muscle
tension, blood pressure, oxygen consumption
•
Brain wave activity changes
42
Meditation—Deep Relaxation (con’t)
Benefits:
• Decreases stress related problems
• Increased mental health
• Reduction in death rate among nursing home
patients, heart attack patients
43
Meditation—Deep Relaxation (con’t)
Effects of Meditating too long
• Dizziness
• Anxiety, Depression
• Confusion
• Restlessness
• Interference with daily activities
44
Drugs and Consciousness
Psychoactive Drug: A chemical substance that
alters perceptions and mood (effects
consciousness).
45
Dependence & Addiction
Continued use of a
psychoactive drug
produces tolerance.
With repeated
exposure to a drug,
the drug’s effect
lessens. Thus it takes
greater quantities to
get the desired effect.
46
Dependence & Addiction
Continued use of a
psychoactive drug
produces tolerance.
With repeated
exposure to a drug,
the drug’s effect
lessens. Thus it takes
greater quantities to
get the desired effect.
47
Dependence & Addiction
the
diminishing effect
with regular use of
the same dose of a
drug, requiring the
user to take larger
and larger doses
before experiencing
the drug’s effect.
Tolerance:
48
Withdrawal & Dependence
Withdrawal: Upon stopping use of a drug
(after addiction), users may experience
the undesirable effects of withdrawal.
Dependence: Absence of a drug may lead to
a feeling of physical pain, intense
cravings (physical dependence), and
negative emotions (psychological
dependence).
49
Misconceptions about Addiction
Addiction is a craving for a chemical substance,
despite its adverse consequences (physical &
psychological).
Addictive drugs quickly corrupt.
Addiction cannot be overcome voluntarily.
Addiction is no different than repetitive
pleasure-seeking behaviors.
50
Psychoactive Drugs
Psychoactive drugs are divided into three groups.
1. Depressants
2. Stimulants
3. Hallucinogens
51
Depressants
Depressants are drugs that reduce neural activity
and slow body functions. They include:
1. Alcohol
2. Barbiturates
3. Opiates
52
Alcohol
Alcohol affects motor skills, judgment, and
memory…and increases aggressiveness while
reducing self awareness.
Ray Ng/ Time & Life Pictures/ Getty Images
Daniel Hommer, NIAAA, NIH, HHS
Drinking and Driving
53
Barbiturates
2. Barbiturates: Drugs that depress the activity of
the central nervous system, reducing anxiety
but impairing memory and judgment.
Nembutal, Seconal, and Amytal are some
examples.
54
Depressants
http://opioids.com/timeline
3. Opiates: Opium and its
derivatives (morphine
and heroin) depress
neural activity,
temporarily lessening
pain and anxiety. They
are highly addictive.
55
Stimulants
Stimulants are drugs that excite neural activity and
speed up body functions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Caffeine
Nicotine
Cocaine
Ecstasy
Amphetamines
Methamphetamines
56
Caffeine & Nicotine
Caffeine and nicotine increase heart and
breathing rates and other autonomic functions to
provide energy.
http://office.microsoft.com/clipart
http://www.tech-res-intl.com
57
Amphetamines
Amphetamines stimulate neural activity, causing
accelerated body functions and associated energy
and mood changes, with devastating effects.
National Pictures/ Topham/ The Image Works
58
Ecstasy
Greg Smith/ AP Photos
Ecstasy or
Methylenedioxymethamphet
amine (MDMA) is a
stimulant and mild
hallucinogen. It produces a
euphoric high and can
damage serotonin-producing
neurons, which results in a
permanent deflation of mood
and impairment of memory.
59
Cocaine
Cocaine induces immediate euphoria followed by a crash.
Crack, a form of cocaine, can be smoked. Other forms of
cocaine can be sniffed or injected.
http://www.ohsinc.com
60
Hallucinogens
Ronald K. Siegel
Hallucinogens are
psychedelic (mindmanifesting) drugs that
distort perceptions and
evoke sensory images in
the absence of sensory
input.
61
Hallucinogens
Hemp Plant
http://static.howstuffworks.com
LSD: (lysergic acid diethylamide) powerful
hallucinogenic drug (ergot fungus) that is
also known as acid.
THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol): is the
major active ingredient in marijuana (hemp
plant) that triggers a variety of effects,
including mild hallucinations.
62
Additional Points
•Blood Brain Barrier: prevents some substances
from entering brain tissue
•Agonists: bind to receptor sites, mimic
neurotransmitters, same action
•Antagonists: binds to receptor sites, prevents
normal neurotransmitters from binding
63
OPPONENT PROCESS THEORY
•Drugs trigger negative aftereffects that offset their
immediate positive effects
•General principle: emotions tend to produce opposing
emotions which linger after the original emotions
disappear.
•With repetition, the opposing emotions grow stronger
•This pattern parallels that of drug-induced pleasures;
pleasures wane as drugs exacts its compensatory price
•Explains tolerance and withdrawal and addiction
64
Additional Points
•Dopamine Reward Circuit:
– Addictive chemical such as heroine, alcohol,
cocaine, commandeer the reward circuit and boost
its activity.
– As tolerance develops, drug merely lifts one out of
depression and back to normal
65
Psychological and Social-Cultural
Influences
•Learned Expectations: watching others,
causing imitation
•3 channels for drug prevention
– Education about long-term costs
– Boosting self-esteem and purpose in life
– Modify peer associations or “inoculation”
against peer pressures by training in refusal
skills
66
Drugs
Summary
67
Influences on Drug Use
The use of drugs is based on biological,
psychological, and social-cultural influences.
68
Mind-Body Problem
Near-death experiences raise the mind-body issue.
Can the mind survive the dying body?
Dualism: Dualists believe that mind (non-physical)
and body (physical) are two distinct entities
that interact.
Monism: Monists believe that mind and body are
different aspects of the same thing.
69
iClicker Questions for
Psychology, 8th Edition
by David G. Myers
Karla Gingerich, Colorado State University
Chapter 7: States of
Consciousness
70
While out for a bike ride, you can
think about what you’ll make for
dinner rather than concentrate on
how to operate the bicycle. This
illustrates:
A.
B.
C.
D.
parallel processing.
Sigmund Freud’s concept of the unconscious.
the function of delta waves.
somnambulism.
71
Staying up especially late on
weekends is most likely to have
an influence on:
A.
B.
C.
D.
narcolepsy.
sleep apnea.
the circadian rhythm.
seasonal affective disorder.
72
Carrie’s EEG shows sleep spindles.
Which stage of sleep is she in?
A.
B.
C.
D.
stage 1
stage 2
stage 3
REM
73
Those who complain of insomnia
typically _______ how long it
actually takes them to fall asleep
and ________ how long they
actually slept.
A.
B.
C.
D.
underestimate; overestimate
overestimate; underestimate
underestimate; underestimate
overestimate; overestimate
74
The experience of insomnia
following discontinued use of a
psychoactive drug best
illustrates:
A.
B.
C.
D.
narcolepsy.
withdrawal.
REM rebound.
dissociation.
75
A modern theory of dreams suggests
that dreams help us to fix the day’s
experiences into memories. This is
known as the ___________ theory
of dreams.
A.
B.
C.
D.
information processing
physiological function
activation-synthesis
cognitive developmental
76
The social influence theory of
hypnosis receives support from
evidence that:
A. behaviors produced through hypnotic
procedures can also be produced without them.
B. hypnotized subjects have a hidden observer.
C. easily hypnotized individuals have difficulty
focusing attention on their own thoughts and
feelings.
D. very few people are at all responsive to
hypnotic suggestions.
77
Court systems frequently ban
testimony from witnesses who have
been hypnotized because the
procedure often encourages:
A.
B.
C.
D.
a hidden observer.
hallucinations.
narcolepsy.
false memories.
78
In order to help patients control their
undesired symptoms or unhealthy
behaviors, clinicians would be most
likely to make use of:
A.
B.
C.
D.
dissociation.
REM rebound.
posthypnotic suggestion.
hypnogogic sensations.
79
Which of the following is NOT
classified as a stimulant?
A.
B.
C.
D.
heroin
ecstasy
cocaine
methamphetamine
80
Critical Thinking Questions
81
After Scott builds up a sleep debt,
you would expect him to:
A. have increased insomnia.
B. experience less REM sleep for several
nights.
C. show the paradoxical effect of being more
alert during his waking hours.
D. get more sleep for several nights until the
debt is paid off.
82
Your friend insists that she rarely
has dreams. What is the most
likely explanation for this
situation?
A. She probably has dreams every night, but only
rarely remembers her dreams.
B. She probably uses barbiturates to help her sleep
every night.
C. This is normal; most people never dream.
D. She stays up too late at night and gets up too
early in the morning.
83
Alex complains of chronic insomnia.
He has had a medical check-up and is
healthy, yet he has difficulty falling
asleep. What is the best advice you
can give in this situation?
A. Have a glass of wine right before bedtime.
B. Go to the doctor and get a prescription for
sleeping pills.
C. Go to bed at the same time every evening and
wake up at the same time in the morning.
D. Do some strenuous exercise right before going
to bed.
84
Your young child wakes up a few nights
per month seemingly in a panic. She sits
up in bed screaming and crying. You rush
in to calm her and to see what is
happening. The child usually returns to
sleep and doesn’t remember this
happening at all. What is the best
A. She explanation
may be exhibiting
of early onset
for symptoms
this behavior?
epilepsy.
B. She has excessive anxiety during the day.
C. She has too much sugar in her diet.
D. She is probably experiencing night terrors, a
fairly common event in early childhood.
85
What advice would you give to a friend
who is attempting to learn a foreign
language by listening to tapes while
she sleeps?
A. Make sure the volume is turned up enough to hear it
well during sleep.
B. Make sure the volume isn’t loud enough to interfere
with your ability to relax.
C. Make sure there is music, such as Mozart, playing as
well because it is known to enhance learning during
sleep.
D. Don’t spend your money on the tapes, because we don’t
remember information we’ve heard while asleep.
86