States of Consciousness
Introduction
What is Consciousness?
• Our level of awareness about
ourselves and the environment
• We have different levels and
states of consciousness
»Not “On/Off” switch
Psych’s History of Consciousness©
• Early in the discipline, the very definition of psych. was
“the description and explanation of the states of ©.”
• The difficulty of studying © led many in the early 20th
cent. to abandon © and focus on the direct observable
behavior (Behaviorism)
– “Psychology must discard all references to consciousness”
» John Watson - Behaviorist
• By 1960, advances in neuroscience made it possible
to study brain activity and the
importance of © re-entered psych.
Freud’s Iceberg Theory and
Levels of Consciousness
Level 1: Conscious Awareness
• What you are aware of and thinking about
now. (on top of the surface)
• Level 2: Non-Conscious – body
processes that operate automatically
(autonomic NS – heart beat, lungs,
digestion, eye blink, etc.). You can be
aware of these things but you do not have
to think about them in order for them to
operate.
Level 3: Pre-Conscious
• Info you are not currently thinking about,
but you can bring to the surface/conscious
level (memories)
• Level 4: Sub Conscious level
Information you're not aware of but affects
your behavior nonetheless
- mere exposure – earlier exposure
affects your preferences
- priming – earlier exposure affects your
ability to relearn a task
Level 5: Unconscious
• Damaging, harmful, hurtful events that you
cannot recall or do not fully accept
• Too difficult to face on the conscious level
so you repress them to the unconscious
• Can still impact your behavior and healthy
development in a significant way
• Level Freud is most interested in
Dualism V. Monism
• Dualists believe
the mind/spirit/
(conscious) and
the body are two
distinct entities.
Mind/spirit
(conscious)
continues to exist
after death.
Would believe in
out of body
experiences or life
after death.
• Monists believe
the min/spirit
(conscious) and
body are one
and the same.
When the body
is dead your
essence is also
dead.
SLEEP
• Sleep is its own state of © because, while we
sleep we are less aware of ourselves and our
environment
• Circadian Rhythm
– Our bodies synchronize with the 24 hour cycle
of the day
– Our own biological clock regulates body
rhythms
• Ex – energy, temperature, metabolism, etc.
– Part of our (CR) is our sleep cycle
Sleep Stages
• An EEG measures brain activity during sleep
• Creates brain waves to illustrate different stages
• The entire sleep cycle for humans is 90 minutes (you
cycle all the way through in one 90 minute segment)
• Other mammals go through the same cycle/stages
Sleep Stages
• Sleep onset – period when
falling asleep.
–Weird feeling
–May hallucinate
Sleep Stages
• Stage 1 – alpha waves.
– High frequency, low amplitude
– Similar to waves when we’re
awake.
» Lasts about 5 minutes
Sleep Stages
Stage 2
• Waves get progressively
slower and higher in
amplitude
• Sleep spindles occur in
stage 2 – rapid bursts of
brain activity
Sleep Stages
• Stage 3- transitional stage that
is only a few minutes and
takes us into a deeper sleep
Sleep Stages
• Stage 4- Delta Sleep (slow wave sleep/
large, slow brain waves)
• The slower the wave, the deeper the sleep
and the less aware we are of our
environment.
• People in delta sleep are very hard to
wake and will be groggy when they come
to
Sleep Stages
• Stage 4 cont . . . Delta sleep is important
in replenishing body’s chemical supplies
(releasing growth hormones in children
and fortifying the immune system)
• People deprived of delta sleep =
susceptible to illness and physical
exhaustion
• Increased exercise increases time spent in
delta sleep
Sleep Stages
• REM Sleep (stage 5)- about one
hour after falling asleep, you
pass back through stages 3 and
2 and go into REM (rapid eye
movement).
REM sleep cont . . .
• Paradoxical sleep- because brain waves
appear as active and intense as when
we’re awake (alpha waves)
–Internally the body is aroused with high
heart rate, breathing, tense muscles;
externally the body appears calm
REM sleep cont . . .
• REM lasts about 10 minutes
• Purpose of REM is not clear
• Effects of REM: dreams usually occur at
this time
• REM deprivation interferes with the
memory
»More stress in our day = longer
time in REM
Sleep Cycle
• As the night wears on, time in stage
4/delta gets progressively less and
eventually disappears. REM sleep periods
get progressively longer.
• i.e. you spend more time the first half of
the night in Stage 4
• You spend more time the second half of
the night in REM
Sleep Disorders and
Dreams
INSOMNIA
• Most common sleep DO (affects
about 10% of the population at
some time)
• CHRONIC – persistent problems
falling or staying asleep
• Sleep debt leads to physical,
emotional problems – wears you
down
• Treatment – less caffeine, no
naps, consistent sleep schedule,
comfortable sleep environment,
regular exercise, no electronics
before bed
• Sleeping pills are NOT a long
term solution because you
become dependent
Narcolepsy
• Very rare (less than .001%
of the population
• Suffer from periods of
intense sleepiness and may
fall asleep at unpredictable
and inappropriate times –
suddenly and uncontrollably
fall into REM sleep no matter
what you are doing
• Treated with meds
• http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=GmXSJooA6T4
Sleep Apnea
• Person periodically stops
breathing during sleep –
wakes up gasping for air,
then continues sleeping
• Robs person of good,
uninterrupted sleep
• Can be fatal
• Are also often loud snorers
• Overweight men especially
at high risk
• Treated with a breathing
machine – respirator
• http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=4JkiWvWn2aU
Night Terrors
• During sleep person sits up, screams,
walks around, talks incoherently, etc.
• Usually doesn’t recall when later
awakened
• Much more common in children – most
people outgrow in teen years
DREAMS
• Story like images
• Usually occur in REM sleep
• Information Processing Theory – we
dream about things that have been
weighing heavily on our mind – brain’s
way of dealing with stress in a nonthreatening way
• Freud argued that dreams were “windows
into the unconscious”
– Manifest content – the actual story
– Latent content – the hidden meaning
DRUGS
http://teens.drugabuse.gov/q
uiz/national-drug-factsweek/take-iq-challenge/2015
Take the 2015 Drug Quiz at
the link above
Drugs
• Chemicals that alter your body’s own
chemical balances – create an altered
state of consciousness
• Blood brain barrier – usually protects the
brain from harmful chemicals in the
bloodstream with thicker walls that
surround the brain’s blood vessels. But
molecules of drugs are small enough to
pass the blood brain barrier
Drugs disturb natural
neurotransmitters in the brain
• AGONISTS –
mimic NT. Fit
into receptor
sites (dendrites)
of neurons and
act as the NT
would
• ANTAGONIST
– block the
receptor sites
(dendrites) so
that the natural
NT cannot bind
DRUG AFFECTS
• Tolerance – a
user needs to
take the drug
more often and
in increasingly
larger doses to
achieve the
same result
• Withdrawal –
undesirable side
effects the body
experiences when
coming off the drug.
Withdrawals are the
opposite of whatever
the drug does to you.
Withdrawal symptoms
drive the user to take
again.
DRUG CATEGORIES
• Stimulants – uppers, speed up body
processes, confidence, euphoria, energy
(crack, cocaine, amphetamines)
• Depressants – downers, slow body
processes, slow reaction and judgment
(alcohol, barbiturates, valium)
• Hallucinogens – causes hallucinations,
false perceptions (LSD, pot, mushrooms);
drugs linger in body for weeks
• Opiates – from poppy plant, pain killers
and mood elevators; extremely physically
addictive (morphine, oxycotin, codeine)
Dateline/NBC – June 7, 2015
Growing Hope – Medical Marijuana –
Treatment of Epilepsy??
• http://www.nbc.com/dateline/video/dateline
-june-72015/2870103?onid=209511#vc209511=1
HYPNOSIS
Dissociation Theory
• Believes hypnosis is a legit altered state of
Con
• When hypnotized our con awareness is
divided
– One part under the control of the hypnotist
– Other part is “the hidden observer” – is
subconsciously aware of reality
– Ernest Hilgard’s ice bucket experiments
– Many seek hypnosis for pain management
• Post-hypnotic Amnesia –
forgetting events that
occurred during hypnosis
• Post-hypnotic
Suggestion – suggesting
a person behave a
certain way after being
brought out of hypnosis
Role Theory
• Is skeptical of hypnosis – not truly an
altered state
• Some people have higher hypnotic
suggestibility – rich fantasy life, ability to
focus and follow directions, believes in it
• These people subconsciously play the role
of being hypnotized (placebo effect)