Psychology Chapter 2 & 6
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Consciousness is awareness, experiencing
reality, your normal walking state
Unconscious: The memories and feelings that
are stored in your brain that you are not aware
of, but still effect your thoughts and behaviors
Altered states of consciousness (ASCs) reached
through dreams, hypnosis, or drugs
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Create a world where senses and perceptions are no
longer restricted by reality
Dream research: Electroencephalograph (EEG)
records brain wave patterns
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Do past lives exist? Can we connect to them
through our dreams?
Do you have any irrational and unexplained
phobias?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25aeYRUSGU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21sJme48HV
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eijor1bL8z0&
feature=relmfu
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Body shuts down various functions, less
sensitive to stimuli
REM sleep (rapid eye movement): stage I where
most dreaming occurs, closest to consciousness
75% of time spent in deep sleep (stages II,III,IV)
Cycles about every 90 minutes
Everyone dreams: they occupy 18-33% of sleep
time
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Essential to your physical and mental well-being
Allows body/brain to repair cells, sort and store
memories, waste cleared out, restore nerve systems,
and process info learned during the day
Allows unconscious an outlet so that it doesn’t affect
waking hours in form of hallucinations
Some believe these are the only functions, others
believe interpretations allow for insights into your
life and issues
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Stories your brain makes up, based on things
you have seen/experienced, everyday life
Hormone levels change like experiencing
actual waking emotion, but muscles turned off
Dreams more often about anxiety or anger,
something that needs to be processed and dealt
with in your life
Dream meaning: Interpretation through
symbols
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Manifest Content: what happens in the dream
Latent Content: the meaning behind what happens in the
dream
Falling: Fall from grace, fall out of favor or out of touch,
failing
Flying: Success and freedom or escaping something
Nudity: Usually in public, means anxiety
Exams: feeling unprepared, test in life
Losing money: warning about valuables or suggestion of
other type of loss
Finding money: Go ahead with plan/purchase, or reminder
that you are a person of value
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Lucid Dreaming: You are aware you are dreaming and take control
of the content of the dream
Sleep talking: During transitions between sleep cycles, vocalizing
dreams
Sleep Walking: Caused by illness, stress, emotional issues or sleep
deprivation
 Not in relation to dream content because it happens during deep
cycles of sleep
 Reflex actions of routines from daily life, such as driving, eating,
bathing, etc.
 http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/sleepwalking.html
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuNzubLTI_A&safe=active
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPdgog3afTI&safe=active
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Ancient people saw them as messages from God
Freud calls them “the royal road to knowledge of
the unconscious activities of the mind”
During sleep: unconscious calls attention to your
deepest needs, allows you “wish fulfillment”
Filled with imagery and symbols that can tell us
about various issues and the root cause of them
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Attachment issues with parents, discover hidden desires,
sexual imagery and jealousy
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lig53eW2
ptg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1CJCAv
QsjQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feat
ure=endscreen&v=_TJUjZpUYbE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feat
ure=endscreen&v=R_L1lCyK5ek
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Do you believe in hypnosis and the power of
suggestion?
ASC where subject enters into state of increased
suggestibility, total concentration on hypnotist
creates trance
9 out of 10 can be hypnotized: Best candidates are
cooperative, have good reason to do it, and are
creative and intelligent
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=h
ypnosis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mW2YU3X
3kg
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Medical Use: To control/reduce/block-out
pain during surgery, dentistry, childbirth, etc.
Psychological Use: Discuss and deal with
issues to hard to talk about normally, as well as
childhood and past life regression
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Overcome addictions: posthypnotic suggestion
Legal Use: Crime evidence and courtroom
testimonies (controversial)
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Subjects are eager to please hypnotist so though they
will tell the truth, they may create info to fill in gaps
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The unique pattern of thought, feelings and
behavior by which each person reacts to the
external world
Grows from a complex system of conscious
thought, unconscious drives, and life
experiences
Creates the personal values and goals that help
you set priorities
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Everyone’s personality is unique
An individual will generally behave consistently
from one situation to another
Modern General Consensus: Environment has
the most influence on personality development
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proper childhood nurturing, good diet, available
health care, freedom from worry, and feelings shared
with family/friends
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Hard to study, widely debated, various
theories
Studied to determine what is
normal/abnormal, learn about social/cultural
differences, explain morals and values
Ancient beliefs about influences of gods,
demons, spirits, and astrology
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Gall’s Phrenology: Feeling bumps on the head
to determine traits of personality (1800s)
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Sociobiology: Genes programmed to determine
behavior based on survival instinct
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Studied twins separated at birth
Humors: Created by Hippocrates in 400 BC,
determine health and behavior due to excess or
deficiency of bodily fluids
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Phlegm: passive, careful, slow-moving
Black bile: Melancholic, anxious
Yellow bile: Irritable, angry
Blood: Easygoing, optimistic
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Altered in 1960s to this form:
http://similarminds.com/eysenck.html
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Body type determines personality and behavior
Pioneer in
mental testing
to determine
range of personality
characteristics
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Freud forms first major personality theory
Combination of hereditary and environment shapes
personality developments, as well as contributions
of unconscious = Freud’s unique contribution
Controversial: Changed mindset of psychology
Theory grew from Freud’s treatments of mentally ill
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His discoveries lead to proper treatment
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Many controversial studies for time period; not
given recognition until 1920s
Your mind is an iceberg: conscious,
preconscious and unconscious
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Freudian slip: indicator of unconscious issues
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpu_iEsISuI&
safe=active
Life and Death forces in all of us:
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Eros: Life-survival instincts, fueled by psychic
energy of libido which allows us to love
Thanatos: Death wish-can lead to suicide, crime,
genocide and war if unchecked
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Humans are caught between their own needs and
the needs of society
Three forces to help resolve conflict
Id: Goal is to maximize pleasure and minimize
pain = selfish needs and desires
Wants immediate satisfaction, whether it’s right
or wrong
Allows us to find joy in experiences
Buried in the unconscious
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Moderating force between demands of Id and
the world around you
Measures risk and analyzes consequences
before allowing Id to take action
Wants to provide pleasure with least amount of
pain
Helps suppress desires that conflict with
society but ultimately wants to satisfy Id
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Superego absorbs social morals/values taught
to us by our parents/society
Demands you behave morally, do what’s right
In conflict with Id’s desire for pleasure
Saves you from temptation
Punishes with feelings of guilt when you do
something wrong (conscience)
Rewards with good feelings when you
do something right (ego ideal)
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Repression: block out painful memories to protect
yourself, but still effect your life
Displacement: Take your emotions out on
someone else more vulnerable
Sublimation: Turn powerful negative feelings into
positive socially accepted expression of emotion
Projection: Displace hard to deal with internal
stress and project it onto outside target to cope
with your own inadequacies/insecurities
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Regression: Return to infantile state of behavior when
faced with stress/anxiety, overuse can lead to pattern
of nonproductive behavior
Reaction Formation: converts forbidden feelings into
positive feelings/motivation, with underlying
resentment
Rationalization: Justifying excuses when you feel
guilty for not living up to your own expectations,
issues with never taking responsibility for your own
actions
Procrastination: Avoid completing unpleasant task to
avoid stress or fear of failure, usually causes more
stress
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Children formerly thought to be “pure and
innocent angels”
Freud “murdered childhood” saying we all
have sexual feelings/desire from birth
We are taught these natural feelings are
“abnormal” and attempt to repress them
Sexual feelings surface in dreams, Freudian
slips, jokes, etc.
Freud believes sex is the single most powerful
force in determining our feelings, thoughts and
actions
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Oral Stage: First year of life; eating
 Explore with mouth
 Oral fixation later in life is not resolved
Anal Stage: Age 2-3; potty training
 Child needs to feel pride and learn in their own time
 Develop a rebellious or anal retentive (controlling) personality
later in life if forced
Phallic Stage: Age 4-6; Oedipus complex
 Children learn relationship skills from opposite sex parent
 Develop issues is that parent isn’t present/attentive
 Daddy issues or Mama’s boy
Latency Period: Age 6-puberty
 Spend time with same sex groups
 Opposite sex “has cooties”
Genital Stage: Puberty into adult life
 Explore love relationships and sexuality
If some stage is unresolved then it prevents normal development
and healthy intimacy
 Penis envy and sexism issues
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Use couch; therapist is mostly silent until
personal progress is made, then make
observations and suggestions
Free association: Speak freely about anything
that comes to mind without guilt
Use insights about past to overcome present
barriers to happiness
Transference: Attach feelings about important
people to analyst, rely on them, love/hate
relationship, then ask yourself what you want
from analyst and from life