Introduction to Psychology
Class 10: Consciousness
Myers: 187-208
June 27, 2006
Consciousness
Defined as awareness of ourselves and
our environments
 Are we completely conscious when we
drive cars?
 Are we somewhat conscious when we
dream?

Pick a card…
Selective attention
Definition: Focusing of conscious
awareness on particular stimuli
 Cocktail Party Effect
 Change Blindness

Conscious processing
5 senses
 11 million bits of sensation/information
 ~40 are consciously processed
 Why do we need a “perceptual filter”?

Nonconscious influences
Did participants
recognize the
music tunes?
Simple,
novel
music
tunes
Prose
passages
Did participants
rate the music
tunes they had
been exposed
to as more
appealing than
those that they
had not been
exposed to?
NO
YES
Participant recites
the prose out loud
WHAT CONCLUSION COULD WE DRAW
BASED ON THESE RESULTS?
Sleep
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Circadian rhythm / body clock
Light (natural or artificial) is the stimulus
It causes neural activity in the hypothalamus
(SCN)
Results in fluctuations of substances like
melatonin (via the pineal gland)
Necessary for protection, restoration and growth
REM sleep

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
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Lasts 10 minutes out of every 90 minute sleep
cycle
30 minutes in to sleep cycle
1/4th of total sleep
Internal arousal (heart, genitals, eyes) and
dreams/nightmares
External relaxation (muscles)
Paradoxical sleep
Sleep disorders
Insomnia
 Narcolepsy
 Sleep apnea
 Night terrors
 Sleep-talking
 Somnambulism

Dreams

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Definition: A sequence of images, emotions, and
thoughts notable for hallucinatory imagery,
discontinuities and incongruities, the dreamer’s
delusional acceptance of the content, and later
difficulty remembering it
Manifest content
Latent content
Why we dream
Wish-fulfillment
- Sigmund Freud
 Information processing

-
Consolidation of memories

Activation synthesis
-
Low-level neural activity continues in sleep
The brain want to make “sense” of these “sensations”
Emotion-related limbic system has a role
Leads to the creation of the stories of dreams
-
-
Hypnosis


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State of focus via hypnotic induction
Suggestibility / hypnotic susceptibility
Post-hypnotic suggestion
- Good for obesity and stress-related skin disorders
- Bad for drug addictions, including smoking
- What about positive suggestion?

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Age-regression deeply disputed
Pain relief
- Dissociation or Selective Attention?
Psychoactive drugs

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-
Relaxation, euphoria, wakefulness, alertness,
energy, arousal, enhanced sensation,
confidence, disinhibition, relief from pain
Tolerance, withdrawal, physical dependence,
psychological dependence
Myths
The addiction is always rapid
Therapy is a must
Any repetitive pleasure-seeking behavior is an “addiction”
EFFECTS
TYPE
DRUG
PLEASURABLE
ADVERSE

Alcohol

Depressant

Initial high, relaxation,
disinhibition

Depression, memory loss,
organ damage

Heroin

Depressant

Euphoria, pain relief


Caffeine  Stimulant

Alertness, wakefulness


Speed
Stimulant

Euphoria, alertness,
energy

Depressed physiology,
agonizing withdrawal
High doses, withdrawal
are uncomfortable
Irritability, insomnia,
seizures, high BP

Cocaine  Stimulant

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Stress on heart,
suspiciousness

Nicotine

Stimulant
Euphoria, confidence,
energy
Arousal, well being

Heart disease, cancer

Ecstasy

Stimulant,  Elevation, disinhibition
hallucinogen

Dehydration, mood and
cognitive depression

Mild
 Enhanced sensation,
hallucinogen pain relief, time
distortion, relaxation

Memory disruption, lung
damage from smoke

(Methamphetamine)
(MDMA)

Marijuana

Meditation

Employed by all kinds of traditions
- Buddhism to New Age

Lowers stress
- Hormones
- Cardiovascular
Helps negotiate between prefrontal cortex
and amygdala?
 Increased gamma-wave activity at rest?

They say dreams are only
real while they last…
but how much more can
we say about life?