General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
States of Consciousness
General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
Chapter 5
Some Early Definitions
• Consciousness: All the sensations, perceptions,
memories, and feelings you are aware of in any instant
– Waking Consciousness: Normal, clear, organized,
alert awareness
• Altered State of Consciousness (ASC): Awareness that
is distinctly different in quality or pattern from waking
consciousness
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Sleep
• Definition: Innate, biological rhythm
• Microsleep: Brief shift in brain-wave patterns similar to
those of sleep
• Sleep Deprivation: Sleep loss; being deprived of needed
amounts of sleep
• Sleep-Deprivation Psychosis: Major disruption that
occurs because of sleep loss
• Hypersomnia: Excessive daytime sleepiness
Figure 5.2
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Chapter 5
FIGURE 5.2 Sleep rhythms. Bars show periods of sleep during the fourth, fifth, and sixth weeks
of an experiment with a human subject. During unscheduled periods, the subject was allowed to
select times of sleep and lighting. The result was a sleep rhythm of about 25 hours. Notice how
this free-running rhythm began to advance around the clock as they fell asleep later each day.
When periods of darkness (shaded area) were imposed during the fifth week, the rhythm
quickly resynchronized with 24-hour days. (Adapted from Czeisler, 1981.)
Figure 5.3
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Chapter 5
FIGURE 5.3 Development of sleep patterns. Short cycles of sleep and waking gradually become
the night-day cycle of an adult. While most adults don’t take naps, midafternoon sleepiness is a
natural part of the sleep cycle.
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Chapter 5
Measuring Sleep Changes
• Electroencephalograph (EEG): Brain-wave machine;
amplifies and records electrical activity in the brain
• Beta Waves: Small fast waves associated with alertness
and awakeness
• Alpha Waves: Large, slow waves associated with
relaxation and falling asleep
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Stages of Sleep
• Stage 1: Small, irregular waves produced in light sleep
(people may or may not say they were asleep)
– Hypnic Jerk: Reflex muscle twitch throughout body
that may occur in Stage 1
• Stage 2: Deeper sleep; sleep spindles (bursts of
distinctive brain-wave activity) appear
• Stage 3: Deeper sleep; Delta waves appear; very large
and slow
• Stage 4: Deepest level of normal sleep; almost purely
Delta waves
General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
Chapter 5
States of Sleep
• Rapid Eye Movements (REM): Associated with dreaming;
sleep is very light.
– Body is very still during REM sleep.
– Lack of muscle paralysis during REM sleep is called
REM Behavioral Disorder.
• Non-REM (NREM) Sleep: Occurs during stages 1, 2, 3,
and 4; no rapid eye movement occurs.
– Seems to help us recover from daily fatigue.
Figure 5.6
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Chapter 5
FIGURE 5.6 (a) Average proportion of time adults spend daily in REM sleep and NREM sleep.
REM periods add up to about 20 percent of total sleep time. (b) Typical changes in stages of
sleep during the night. Notice that dreams mostly coincide with REM periods.
General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
Chapter 5
Sleep Disturbances
• Insomnia: Difficulty in getting to sleep or staying asleep,
or waking early
– Sleeping pills exacerbate insomnia; cause decrease
in REM and Stage 4 sleep and may cause
dependency
• Drug-Dependency Insomnia: Sleeplessness that follows
withdrawal from sleeping pills
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Chapter 5
Types and Causes of Insomnia
• Temporary Insomnia: Brief period of sleeplessness
caused by worry, stress, and excitement.
– Avoid fighting it and read a book, for example, until
you’re struggling to stay awake.
• Chronic Insomnia: Exists if sleeping troubles last for
more than three weeks.
– Adopt regular schedule; go to bed at the same time
each night, for example.
• Tryptophan: Amino acid (chemical) that produces sleep.
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Chapter 5
More Sleep Disturbances
• Sleepwalking (Somnambulism): Occurs in NREM sleep
during Stages 3 and 4
• Sleeptalking: Speaking while asleep; occurs in NREM
sleep
General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
Chapter 5
Even More Sleep Disturbances
• Nightmares: Bad dreams
– Occur during REM sleep
– May occur once or twice a month; brief and easily
(unfortunately) remembered
– Imagery Rehearsal: Mentally rehearse the changed
dream before you go to sleep again; may help to
eliminate nightmares
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Chapter 5
Night Terrors
• Night Terrors: Total panic and hallucinations may occur
– Occurs during Stage 4 sleep
– Most common in childhood; may occur in adults
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Chapter 5
Physiological Sleep Problems
• Sleep Apnea: Interrupted breathing during sleep; cause
of very loud snoring
– Hypersomnia: Extreme daytime sleepiness
– Apnea can be treated by
• Surgery
• Weight loss
• Breathing mask
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS; Crib Death):
Sudden, unexplained death of healthy infant (infants
should sleep on back or on side to try to prevent)
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Dreams
• REM Rebound: Extra rapid eye movement sleep
following REM sleep deprivation
• Psychodynamic (Freudian) Theory: Emphasizes internal
conflicts, motives, and unconscious forces
• Wish Fulfillment: Freudian belief that many dreams are
expressions of unconscious desires
– Much evidence to refute this
• Dream Symbols: Images that have a deeper symbolic
meaning
• Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis: Dream content may be
affected by motor commands in the brain (that occur
during sleep) that are not carried out
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Hypnosis
• Altered state of consciousness characterized by
intensely narrowed attention and increased openness to
suggestion
– Mesmer: Believed he could cure diseases by passing
magnets over body; true “animal magnetism”
(“mesmerize” means to hypnotize)
– Must cooperate to become hypnotized
• Hypnotic Susceptibility: How easily a person can be
hypnotized
• Basic Suggestion Effect: Tendency of hypnotized people
to carry out suggested actions as though they were
involuntary
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Hypnosis Can’s and Cannot’s
• Hypnosis CAN
– Help people relax
– Reduce pain
– Get people to make better progress in therapy
• Hypnosis CANNOT
– Produce acts of superhuman strength
– Produce age regression
– Force you to do things against your will
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Stage Hypnosis
• Simulation of hypnotic effects.
• Tricks of the Trade:
– Waking Suggestibility: People on stage do not want to
spoil the act, so they will follow any instruction.
– Selection of Responsive Subjects: Any “volunteer”
who does not get hypnotized in the stage group and
does not follow instructions is “voted off.”
– The Hypnosis Label Disinhibits: On stage, once you
are “in a hypnotic trance,” your responsibility for
actions is removed; you can do whatever you want!
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Chapter 5
More Stage Hypnosis “Tricks of the Trade”
• Hypnotist as Director: Once they are in a trance, the
“volunteers” are suddenly the show’s stars, and they will
act like it. The hypnotists only need to direct them.
• Stage Hypnotists Use Tricks: Stage hypnosis is 50%
deception and 50% taking advantage of the situation
General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
Chapter 5
Meditation
• Mental exercise designed to produce relaxation or
heightened awareness
• Concentrative Meditation: Attention is paid to a single
focal point (i.e., object, thought, etc.)
– Produces relaxation response and thus works to
reduce stress
• Receptive Meditation: Based on widening attention span
to become aware of everything experienced at a given
moment
• Mantra: Word(s) or sound(s) repeated silently during
concentrative meditation
• Relaxation Response: Occurs at time of relaxation;
internal response that prevents activation of adrenal
glands
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Chapter 5
Sensory Deprivation (SD)
• Any major reduction in amount or variety of sensory
stimulation
• Benefits
– Sensory enhancement
– Relaxation
– Changing habits
• REST: Restricted Environmental Stimulation Theory:
Makes it easier to change bad habits
Figure 5.10
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FIGURE 5.10 A sensory isolation chamber. Small flotation tanks like the one pictured have been
used by psychologists to study the effects of mild sensory deprivation. Subjects float in darkness
and silence. The shallow body-temperature water contains hundreds of pounds of Epsom salts,
so that subjects float near the surface. Mild sensory deprivation produces deep relaxation.
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Drugs and Altered States of Consciousness
• Psychoactive Drug: Substance capable of altering
attention, judgment, memory, time sense, self-control,
emotion, or perception
• Stimulant: Substance that increases activity in body and
nervous system
• Depressant: Substance that decreases activity in body
and nervous system
Figure 5.11
General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
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FIGURE 5.11 Spectrum and continuum of drug action. Many drugs can be rated on a stimulationdepression scale according to their effects on the central nervous system. Although LSD,
mescaline, and marijuana are listed here, the stimulation depression scale is less relevant to
these drugs. The principal characteristic of such hallucinogens is their mind-altering quality.
General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
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Physical Dependence
• Physical Dependence: Addiction based on drug
tolerance and withdrawal symptoms
– Drug Tolerance: Reduction in body’s response to a
drug
– Withdrawal Symptoms: Physical illness following
withdrawal of the drug
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Psychological Dependence
• Psychological Dependence: Drug dependence based on
psychological or emotional needs
– Usually crave drug
– Can be as powerful as physiological addiction
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Stimulants (Uppers)
• Amphetamine: Synthetic stimulants that excite nervous
system
– Dexedrine and Methamphetamine are two types of
stimulants
• Amphetamine Psychosis: Loss of contact with reality
because of amphetamine use; user tends to have
paranoid delusions
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Chapter 5
Cocaine
• Central Nervous System stimulant derived from leaves of
coca plant; also used as local anesthetic
– From 1886-1906, Coca-Cola did indeed have cocaine
in it!
– Highly addictive drug
– Anhedonia (Inability to Feel Pleasure): Common after
cocaine withdrawal
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Designer Drugs
• Chemically engineered version of an existing drug; made
to skirt drug laws
• MDMA (Ecstasy): Chemically similar to amphetamine;
created by small variations in a drug’s structure
– Risks of using MDMA are unclear
– May cause severe liver damage
– Repeated use damages serotonergic brain cells
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Caffeine
• Most frequently used psychoactive drug in North
America; present in colas, chocolate, coffee, tea
• Causes hand tremors, sweating, talkativeness, tinnitus,
suppresses fatigue or sleepiness, increases alertness
– May be hazardous to pregnant women if used
excessively
• Caffeinism: Physiological dependence on caffeine
– Symptoms: Insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite, chills,
racing heart, elevated body temperature
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Chapter 5
Nicotine
• Natural stimulant found mainly in tobacco; known
carcinogen
• May cause stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion,
tremors
• Addictive
• Responsible for 97% of lung cancer deaths in men, 74%
in women
• Sum: DON’T SMOKE; SMOKING KILLS (SO DOES
CHEWING TOBACCO)
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Sedatives: Barbiturates
• Barbiturates: Sedative drugs that depress brain
activity
– Seconal and Amytal are two types
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Sedatives: Tranquilizers
• Tranquilizers: Lower anxiety and reduce tension
– Valium, Xanax, and Librium are three types
– Rohypnol: Related to Valium; lowers inhibitions and
produces relaxation or intoxication. Larger doses can
induce short-term amnesia and sleep
• Date rape drug because it’s odorless and tasteless
• Drug Interaction: One drug increases the effect of
another
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GHB
• GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate): Central Nervous
System (CNS) depressant that relaxes and sedates;
combination of degreasing solvent and drain cleaner
– Sedative effects may result in nausea, loss of muscle
control, and either sleep or a loss of consciousness
– Inhibits gag reflex, so some choke to death on their
own vomit
– Addictive and deadly
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Alcohol
• Ethyl Alcohol: Intoxicating element in fermented and
distilled liquors
– NOT a stimulant but DOES lower inhibitions
– Depressant
• Binge Drinking: Consuming five or more drinks in a short
time; four or more for women
– Serious sign of alcohol abuse
Figure 5.12
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FIGURE 5.12 The behavioral effects of alcohol are related to blood alcohol content and the
resulting suppression of higher mental function. Arrows indicate the typical threshold for legal
intoxication in the United States.
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Chapter 5
How a Drinking Problem May Develop
(Jellinek, 1960)
• Initial Phase: Social drinker turns to alcohol to relieve
tension or feel good
• Crucial Phase: Person begins to lose control over
drinking
• Chronic Phase: Person is now alcohol dependent
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Treatment for Alcohol Abuse and Dependence
• Detoxification: Withdrawal of the person from alcohol;
occurs in a medical setting and is tightly controlled; often
necessary before long-term treatment begins
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Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): Worldwide self-help
organization composed of recovering alcoholics;
emphasizes admitting powerlessness over alcohol usage
and wanting to recover.
– Spiritual component
– Free; around for over 70 years!
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Some Hallucinogens
• Hallucinogen: Substance that alters or distorts sensory
perceptions
• Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD): Hallucinogen that can
produce hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms
• Mescaline (Peyote) and Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms)
• PCP (Angel Dust): Initially can have hallucinogenic
effects; also an anesthetic and has stimulant and
depressant effects
General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
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Marijuana
• Cannabis Sativa (Marijuana; Pot): Leaves and flowers of
the hemp plant
– Active chemical: THC
– Effects: Relaxation, time distortion, perceptual
distortions
– Psychologically, NOT physiologically, addictive
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Some Health Risks of Using Marijuana
• Causes precancerous changes in lung cells.
• Can suppress immune system, perhaps increasing risk
of disease.
• Activity levels in the cerebellum are lower than normal in
pot users.
• Pot may damage some of the brain’s memory centers.
General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
Chapter 5
Dream Interpretation: Freud
• Four dream processes (mental filters) that hide true
purposes of dreams
– Condensation: Combining several people, objects, or
events into a single dream image
– Displacement: Directing emotions or actions toward
safe or unimportant dream images
– Symbolization: Expressing feelings or ideas
symbolically in dreams; not literal expression
– Secondary Elaboration: Making a dream more logical
and adding details while remembering it
General Psychology: GuangDong University of Foreign Studies
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Dreams: Perls
• Most dreams are a special message about what is
missing in our lives, what we avoid doing when awake,
or feelings that we need to re-own
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Lucid Dreaming
• Person feels fully awake within the dream and feels
capable of normal thought and action