Unit 5:
States of
Consciousness
Mr. McCormick
A.P. Psychology
Essential Question
What are the
psychological roles of sleep,
and how is one’s
consciousness affected by
hypnosis, meditation, and
various drugs?
Unit 5 (A):
Consciousness
and Sleep
Mr. McCormick
A.P. Psychology
Do-Now
(Questionnaire/In Journal)
 Answer the questions on Hand-Out 3-8
“A Morning-Evening Questionnaire”
 Tally up the numbers of your responses:
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70-86: Definitely morning type
59-69: Moderately morning type
42-58: Neither type
31-41: Moderately evening type
16-30: Definitely evening type
Do-Now
(Questionnaire/In Journal)
 Answer the questions on Hand-Out 4-1
“Circadian Rhythms”
 Tally up the numbers of your responses:





70-86: Definitely morning type
59-69: Moderately morning type
42-58: Neither type
31-41: Moderately evening type
16-30: Definitely evening type
Consciousness
 Consciousness:
 Our awareness of ourselves and our
environment
 Exists within a spectrum of levels (as opposed
to simply “conscious” vs. “unconscious”)
 Freudian view: Childhood experiences
 Modern view: Parallel processing
Consciousness
Sleep
“Sleep is the irresistible tempter
to whom we eventually succumb.”
“Jet Lag”
 Have you ever
experienced “Jet Lag?”
 How did you feel?
 Why do you think this
occurs?
Biological Rhythms and Sleep
 Circadian Rhythm:
 The biological clock
 Regular bodily rhythms (for example, of
temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a
24-hour schedule
 Ultradian Rhythm: more than once each day
 Infradian Rhythm: once per month/season
Biological Rhythms and Sleep
Light triggers the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
to decrease melatonin from the pineal gland
in the morning and increase it at nightfall.
Sleep Stages
 Approximately every 90 minutes, we pass
through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages
(includes NREM and REM Sleep)
Sleep Stages
 When awake, relaxed, and ready to fall
asleep, a person’s brain is producing
alpha waves (9-14 cps)
Sleep Stages
 Stage 1-2:
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Lightest levels of sleep
Pulse slows
Muscles relax
May hallucinate
Breathing and brain waves become irregular
Alpha waves/Theta waves (5-8 cps)
Sleep Stages
 Stages 3-4:
 Deepest levels of sleep
 Possibilities:
 Sleepwalking/Sleep talking
 Bed-wetting
 Occurs early in the night
 Delta waves (1.5-4 cps)
 Important to physical and psychological well-being
Sleep Stages
 Stage 5/REM Sleep:
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“Rapid Eye Movement” Sleep
Pulse and heart rate become irregular
Face or fingers may twitch
Large muscles become paralyzed
Sexual arousal
Vivid dreams
“Paradoxical Sleep”
Beta waves (15-40 cps)
Sleep Stages
With each 90-minute cycle, stage 4 sleep
decreases and the duration of REM sleep increases.
Sleep Stages
 Why may we sometimes naturally wake
up throughout the night?
 Why might you feel more tired after taking
a 50-minute nap than you were before
falling asleep?
Why Do We Sleep?
Theories of Sleep
1. Sleep Protects: Sleeping in the darkness when
predators loomed about kept our ancestors out of
harm’s way.
2. Sleep Helps Us Recover: Sleep helps restore and
repair brain tissue.
3. Sleep Helps Us Remember: Sleep restores and
rebuilds our fading memories.
4. Sleep May Play a Role in the Growth Process: During
sleep, the pituitary gland releases growth hormone.
Older people release less of this hormone and sleep
less.
Sleeping with Eyes Open:
“Nocturnal Lagophthalmos”
Review
 What is consciousness?
 Provide an 3 examples of altered states of consciousness.
 How can one’s consciousness be altered:
 Physiologically
 Psychologically
 What is a circadian rhythm? How does it influence our sleep
behavior?
 Discuss the sleep cycle:
 What occurs during each stage of sleep?
Homework
 Unit 5 Key People:
 Unit 5 FRQ:
 Unit 5 Quiz: “States of Consciousness”