Two notions of consciousness
 1. General state of arousal (sleep vs. wakefulness)
 2. Attentional focus or current awareness
(watching football game or listening to wife)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Understanding Consciousness
 Alternate States of
Consciousness
(ASCs): mental states, other than ordinary waking consciousness, found during sleep, dreaming, psychoactive drug use, hypnosis, etc.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Cognitive Studies of Consciousness:
Generally deal with 2 nd notion
 1. Consciousness as attentional focus:
Cocktail party effect (selective attention)
 2. Automatic vs. Controlled processing
(effects of practice on conscious awareness)
 3. Implicit vs. Explicit memory

Recall test vs. Perceptual Identification test

Effects of priming
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Cognitive Studies of consciousness:
Priming test
 Word or non-word RT measure




FORK = word; DXMZ = non-word
SIGN – FORK
DXMZ – FORK
SPOON – FORK (sig reduction in rt)
 Unconscious priming? -- yes
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Cognitive studies of consciousness:
Exclusion task in priming


Coconut…palm (tree or wrist?) cons: only tree/uncon: either
Hand…palm (tree or wrist?) cons: only wrist/uncon: either
 Stem completion task : complete BUT_ _ _
(could be butter or butler). What happens when one is presented earlier either consciously or unconsciously?) But can only be excluded consciously
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Cognitive studies of consciousness: Brain
Damaged Subjects
 1. Blindsight: loss of visual consciousness due to damage to primary visual cortex
 2. Prosopagnosia: loss of face recognition due to damage to temporal lobe visual pathway.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams: Stages of Sleep
 NREM (Non-Rapid-Eye-Movement) Sleep:
 Stage 1 (lightest sleep)
 Stage 2 (deeper sleep)
 Stages 3 and 4 (deepest sleep)
 REM (Rapid-Eye-Movement) Sleep:
 Light sleep (also called paradoxical sleep )
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams: Stages of Sleep
(Continued)
 NREM (non-REM) sleep:
 includes Stages 1 through 4
 involves lower-frequency brain waves, decreased pulse and breathing,and occasional, simple dreams
 serves a biological need (NREM needs met before REM needs)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams:
Stages of Sleep (Continued)
 REM (Rapid-Eye-Movement) sleep:
 also known as paradoxical sleep.
 involves high-frequency brain waves, increased pulse and breathing, large muscle .
 serves a biological need.
 may play a role in learning and consolidating new memories.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams:
Stages of Sleep in a Typical Night
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams: Research
 The EEG,
EOG, and
EMG are common tools for sleep research.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
What Happens When We Sleep

Sleep and Dreams:
Stages of Sleep & Brain Waves
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams: Over the Life Span
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams: Average Daily
Hours of Sleep for Different
Mammals
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams:
Why Do We Sleep?
 Repair/Restoration Theory: sleep helps us recuperate from daily activities
 Evolutionary/Circadian Theory: sleep evolved to conserve energy and as protection from predators
 Cognitive Theory: dreams improve information processing
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams:
Why Do We Dream?
 Psychoanalytic Theory: dreams are disguised symbols ( manifest versus latent content ) of repressed desires and anxieties
 Biological Theory (activation-synthesis hypothesis): dreams are simple by-products of random stimulation of brain cells
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams: Sleep Disorders
Two major categories:
1.
2.
Dyssomnias: problems in amount, timing, and quality of sleep
Parasomnias: abnormal disturbances during sleep
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams:
Three Forms of Dyssomnias
 Insomnia: persistent problems in falling asleep, staying asleep, or awakening too early
 Sleep Apnea: repeated interruption of breathing during sleep
 Narcolepsy: sudden and irresistible onsets of sleep during normal waking hours
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams: Narcolepsy in
Dogs
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Sleep and Dreams:
Two Forms of Parasomnias
 Nightmares : anxiety-arousing dreams occurring near the end of sleep, during REM sleep
 Night Terrors : abrupt awakenings from
NREM sleep accompanied by intense physiological arousal and feelings of panic
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Psychoactive Drugs
 Psychoactive
Drugs: chemicals that change conscious awareness, mood, or perception
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Psychoactive Drugs:
Important Terms
 Drug Abuse: drug taking that causes emotional or physical harm to the individual or others
 Addiction: compulsion to use a specific drug or to engage in a certain activity
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Psychoactive Drugs:
Important Terms
 Psychological
Dependence: desire or craving to achieve effects produced by drug
 Physical Dependence: bodily processes have been so modified by repeated drug use that continued use is required to prevent withdrawal symptoms
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Psychoactive Drugs:
Important Terms (Continued)


Withdrawal : discomfort and distress experienced after stopping the use of addictive drugs
Tolerance : decreased sensitivity to a drug brought about by its continuous use
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Psychoactive Drugs: Four Categories
1.
Depressants: act on the
CNS to suppress bodily processes
(e.g., alcohol, valium)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Alcohol & Neurotransmitters

Psychoactive Drugs: Depressants
(Continued)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Psychoactive Drugs: Stimulants
2.
Stimulants: act on the CNS to increase bodily processes
(e.g., caffeine, nicotine, cocaine)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Psychoactive Drugs: Opiates
3.
Opiates: act as an analgesic or pain reliever (e.g., morphine, heroin)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Psychoactive Drugs: Hallucinogens
4.
Hallucinogens: produce sensory or perceptual distortions called hallucinations
(e.g., LSD, marijuana)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Applying Psychology to Everyday Life:
Club Drug Alert!

Popular “Club Drugs”:

Date Rape Drug (Rohypnol)

MDMA (Ecstasy)

GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate)

Special K (Ketamine)

Crystal Meth (Methamphetamine)

LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Psychoactive Drugs: How They Work
 Step 1).
Alter the production or synthesis of neurotransmitters.
 Step 2).
Change the storage or release of neurotransmitters.
 Step 3).
Alter the reception of neurotransmitters.
 Step 4).
Change the deactivation (block the reuptake or break-down) of excess neurotransmitters.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

How Psychoactive Drugs Work
(Step 3: Agonists vs. Antagonists)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Healthier Ways to Alter Consciousness
 Meditation: group of techniques designed to refocus attention, block out all distractions, and produce an ASC
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Healthier Ways to Alter Consciousness
 Hypnosis: trancelike state of heightened suggestibility, deep relaxation, and intense focus
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Healthier Ways to Alter Consciousness
 Hypnosis is used to treat chronic pain, severe burns, dentistry, childbirth, psychotherapy.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Upper Paleolithic Cave Art: Indications of rituals to achieve ASC?
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Traditional ceremonies
 Mandan Indiana sun-dance: altered state as pain endurance
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)

Ritual Use of Altered State Intoxicants
 As far back as we can trace, humans have used consciousness altering rituals and intoxicants, but always together and always under supervision or regulation. The ritual regulated the drug use.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)