Chapter 6: Consciousness
Chapter Outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
When we are awake: Conscious awareness
Preconscious and unconscious states
When we are asleep
Hypnosis
Meditation
Psychoactive drugs
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
When We Are Awake: Conscious Awareness
 What is consciousness?
Everything you are thinking about right now!
 Your awareness of your surroundings and yourself
 Stream of consciousness—a continuing flow of
changing thoughts (William James, 1890)

 Consciousness involves
Attention
 Monitoring
 Remembering
 Planning

© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Conscious Awareness and the Brain
 Different areas of the brain are responsible for
attention and for one’s awareness of that attention
Cerebral cortex
 Thalamus
 Intralaminar nuclei and midline nuclei

© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Conscious Awareness and the Brain
 Inattentional blindness—failure to notice things
around us to which we are not paying attention
 Blindsight—being unaware of what has reached our
attention
 Conscious awareness—being aware of what has
reached our attention
 Conscious awareness of self develops around 18
months
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Preconscious and Unconscious States
• Preconscious—information from your past that is
stored in your long-term memory and can be easily
accessed
• Example: What you did last weekend
• Unconscious—information from your past that is
stored in your long-term memory but cannot be easily
accessed
• Freud: a repressed memory of a significant traumatic
event
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Cognitive View of the Unconscious
 We have two types of memory:
 Explicit—memories that we are consciously aware of


Examples include memories of things we have done and facts
Implicit—memories that we are unconsciously aware of

Examples include knowing how to ride a bike; it is difficult to
consciously explain how to balance on a bike
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
When We Are Asleep
 Why do we sleep?

Adaptive theory of sleep—humans can
conserve energy while it is dark and they can’t
hunt for food. Also, keeps humans away from
predators that are more active at night

Restoration theory—holds that sleep restores
our brains and bodies
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Sleep Needs of Various Animals
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Circadian Rhythm
 Circadian rhythm is a 24-
hour sleep/wake cycle

Controlled by the
suprachiasmatic nucleus
(SCN)
 What causes our circadian
rhythm?

Genetic differences



Morning people vs. evening
people
Some people need more sleep
than others
Environmental differences

Low sunlight triggers
production of melatonin, which
helps to induce sleep
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Sleep Cycle
 90–100 minute sleep cycle
 One cycle goes through Stage
1, 2, 3, 4, and REM sleep
 We have about five cycles a night
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Stages of Sleep
 Stage 1—a transition into sleep (5 min)


At sleep, alpha waves change to theta waves
HR slows, BP decreases
 Stage 2—harder to wake (15-20 min)


More relaxed
Sleep spindles (burst of rapid brain waves)
 Stage 3—deeper sleep (5-15 min)

Theta waves and delta waves
 Stage 4—deepest sleep (20-30 min)




Slow HR, brain and body in total relaxation (20-30 min)
Deepest sleep
Mostly delta waves
Sleep walking and bed wetting are more likely
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
REM Sleep
 Rapid eye movement sleep (REM) stage of sleep is
associated with rapid and jagged brain wave
patterns, increased heart rate, rapid and irregular
breathing, rapid eye movements, and dreaming
 Paradoxical sleep
 Non-REM sleep (NREM)—Stages 1 through 4 of
normal sleep pattern
 Hypnagogic state—vivid sensory phenomena during
presleep
 Myoclonic jerk—sharp muscular spasm
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Why Do We Dream?
 Freudian theory of dreams
 Wish fulfillment and conflict resolution

Manifest and latent content
 Information processing theory
 Dreams involve processing information from the day (i.e., encoding
memory and problem solving)
 Dreams could be a mental realm where we can solve problems and
think creatively
 Activation-synthesis theory
 During sleep the brain has a lot of random activity
 Dreams are an attempt to make sense of this
 Dreams reflect the brains efforts to make sense out of or find
meaning in the neural activity that takes place during sleep
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Activation-Synthesis Model
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Sleep and Age
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Sleep Deprivation
 If we could sleep as long as we wanted, most people
would sleep 9–10 hours
 Chronic sleep loss results in





General depressed state
Lower immune system
Lower ability to concentrate
Higher incidence of accidents
Lower productivity and higher likelihood of making mistakes
 Circadian rhythm sleep disorder–excessive sleepiness
or insomnia as a result of a mismatch between their
own sleep-wake pattern and the sleep-wake schedule of
most other people in their environment
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Common Sleep Disorders
 Insomnia
Most common
 Difficulty going to sleep, staying asleep, or wake early
 Caused by stress, drug dependence, pain, depression
 Sleep apnea
 Second most common
 Repeatedly stops breathing during night
 Possible to have hundreds of attacks per night
 Can lead to cardiac arrest

© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Sleep Disorders
 Narcolepsy
Excessive daytime
sleepiness
 Suddenly fall into REM
sleep during the day
 Can last up to 15 minutes
 Genetic factors involved
 No cure
 Sleepwalking
 Most common in children
 Occurs in Stages 3 or 4
 Appears to be inherited

© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Sleep Disorders
 Night terrors
Stages 3 or 4
 Child screams in panic; goes back to sleep
immediately and does not remember the event in the
morning
 Resolves by adolescence
 Nightmare disorder
 Experience frequent nightmares
 Nightmares are more common when stressed and in
children

© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Hypnosis
 Hypnosis—altered
state of consciousness
with heightened
suggestibility, deep
relaxation, and
intense focus




Posthypnotic responses
Posthypnotic amnesia
Hypnotic hallucinations
Decreased activity in anterior
cingulate cortex when used to
reduce pain
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
How Hypnosis Works
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Meditation
 Meditation—group of technique designed to turn
one’s consciousness away from the outer world
toward one’s inner cues and awareness
 Benefits include: relaxing and pleasant feelings;
treating pain, asthma, high blood pressure, heart
problems, skin disorders, diabetes, and viral
infections
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Types of Meditation
 Yoga—different poses

Regulates blood flow, heart rate, and digestive processes
 Opening-up approach—clear one’s mind in order to receive
new experiences
 Concentrative meditation—actively concentrate on an object,
word, or idea, called a mantra

Koan—a riddle, such as “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
 Mindfulness meditation—pay attention to one’s feelings,
thoughts, and sensations


Being in the moment
Being mindful, but not judgmental
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Psychoactive Drugs
 Psychoactive drugs—any substance that alters
mood, perception, awareness, or thought
 Includes coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Three Categories of Psychoactive Drugs
 Depressants—act on the central nervous system
(CNS) to suppress bodily processes
 Alcohol, sedative-hypnotic drugs, opioids
 Stimulants—act on the CNS to increase bodily
processes
 Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines
 Hallucinogens—produce sensory or perceptual
distortions called hallucinations
 LSD, marijuana
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Psychoactive Drugs and the Brain
 Psychoactive drugs activate a reward learning
pathway, or “pleasure pathway,” in the brain.
 Reward-deficiency syndrome—pleasure pathway
is not activated readily by daily events, so these
people are prone to abuse drugs
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. All rights
reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that
permitted by Access Copyright (The Canadian Copyright
Licensing Agency) is unlawful. Requests for further information
should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John
Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. The purchaser may make back-up
copies for his or her own use only and not for distribution or
resale. The author and the publisher assume no responsibility
for errors, omissions, or damages caused by the use of these
programs or from the use of the information contained herein.