Consciousness is..

Alertness, being awake vs. being conscious

Self-awareness, the ability to think about self

Having free will, being able to make a "conscious" decision

A persons mental content, thoughts, and imaginings

PSYCHOLOGY DEF: our awareness of ourselves and our environment

Conscious vs. Unconscious Activity: The Dual-Track Mind
Conscious "high" track: deliberate actions we know we are doing
Ex// problem solving, naming an object, defining a word
Unconscious "low" track: automatic actions, often without our awareness
Ex// walking, acquiring phobias, processing sensory details into perceptions and
memories
Selective Attention

There are millions of bits of information coming at our senses every second

Selective attention: our brain is able to choose a focus and select what to notice

(cocktail party effect) we can focus our mental spotlight on a conversation even
when other conversations are occurring

Bad news: we might hyper focus on a conversation while driving a car, putting
the driver and passengers at risk
Selective attention: what we focus on, what we notice
Selective inattention: what we are not focused on, what we do not notice

A failure to notice part of our environment when our attention is directed

elsewhere
Inattentional blindness

Various experiments show that when our attention is focused, we miss seeing
what others may think if obvious to see

Some magic tricks take advantage of this

Change blindness
Change blindness is a form of inattentional blindness
Daily Rhythms and sleep

The circadian rhythm: body's natural 24-hour cycle, roughly matched to the
day/night cycle of light and dark

Factors that vary

o
Body temperature
o
Arousal/energy

o
Mental sharpness
Daily rhythms vary from person to person and with age
o
Evening peak - 20 year old "owls"
o
Morning peak - 50 year old "larks"

Sleep as a state of conscious

We can monitor EEG/brain waves and muscle movements during sleep

Sleep Stages

Patterns of brain waves and muscle activity associated with different types of
consciousness and sleep

4 Stages of sleep and REM

Sleep cycles

Patterns of shifting through all sleep stages

Cycle is about 90 min

With each cycle stage 4 decreases and REM increases

Stage 1

First stage

Lightest stage
Stage 2

Sleep

Spindles (bursts of activity)

Stage 3

Deeper sleep
Stage 4

Deepest sleep

Delta waves
REM

Rapid eye movement

Most common stage of dreaming

Heart rate rises and breathing becomes rapid

'Sleep paralysis' the brainstem blocks the motor cortex messages and the
muscles dont move. This is sometimes known as paradoxical sleep, the brain is
active but the body is immobile

Genitals are aroused (not caused by dream content)

Why do we sleep?

Sleep is affected by biology, age, culture, and individual variation

Age: in general newborns need 16 hours of sleep, while adults need 8 or less

Individual variation: some people function best with 6 hours of sleep, other with 9
or more

1
2
3
4
5

Culture: North Americans sleep less than others, and less than they used to
Circadian rhythm is hard to shift (jet lag)
This rhythm can be affected by light, which suppresses the relaxing hormone
melatonin
Sleep protected our ancestors from predators
Sleep restores and repairs the brain and body
Sleep builds and strengths memories
Sleep facilitates creative problem solving
Sleep is the time when growth hormones are active

Effects of sleep loss/ deprivation

Lose brainpower

Gain weight

Get sick

Irritable

Feel old

Slows reaction time down

Sleep loss results in more accidents. Probably caused by impaired attention and
slower reaction time
How to sleep well
1 Turn the lights low and turn all screens off
2 Eat earlier, and drink less alcohol and caffeine
3 Get up at the same time every day, avoid naps
4 Exercise regularly, but not in the late evening
5 Dont check the clock just let sleep happen
Sleep Disorders
Insomnia: persistent inability to fall asleep or stay asleep
Narcolepsy: "numb seizure" sleep attacks, even a collapse into REM/ paralyzed sleep,
at inopportune times
Sleep Apnea: "with no breath" repeated awakening after breathing stops; time in bed is
not restorative sleep
Dreaming? NO

Night terrors - sudden scared-looking behavior, rapid heartbeat and breathing

(stage 3)

Sleep walking/talking - run in families (genetic basis) (stage 3)

Dreams

The stream of images, actions, and feelings while in REM sleep

What we dream about

Negative event or emotion, especially failure dreams (being pursued, attacked,

rejected, or having bad luck)

We may incorporate real world sounds and other stimuli into dreams
Dreams also include images from recent, traumatic, or frequent experiences

Theories about Functions of Dreams

Theory

Explanation

Wish fulfillment (Freud's psychoanalytic

theory)

"psychic safety valve"; express unacceptable

feelings, manifest (remembered) content and a
latent content (hidden meaning)

Information processing

Dreams help us sort out the day's events and

consolidate our memories

Physiological function

Regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help

develop and preserve neural pathways

Activation - synthesis

REM impulses evoke random visual memories,

which our sleeping brain weaves into stories

Cognitive - developmental theory

Reflects the dreamer's cognitive development - his

or her knowledge and understanding

Possible state of consciousness:

Hypnosis

A social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the
subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will
spontaneously occur

Also called heightened suggestibility as well as a trance

Controversy: does this social interaction really require an altered state of

consciousness
Benefits of hypnosis:

Block awareness of pain, even enough for surgery without anesthesia

Reduce obesity, anxiety, and hypertension

Improve concentration and performance

What hypnosis CANNOT do:

Cannot convince people to do things they wouldnt normally do

Bestow superhuman abilities or strength

Accurately boost recall of forgotten events (it is more likely to implant false recall)
Altering consciousness

Psychoactive drugs
o
Chemicals which alter perceptions, mood, and elements of conscious
experience

Dependence/ Addiction
o
Addiction

Tolerance
Withdrawal
Impact on daily life of substance use
Physical and psychological dependence
o
Dependence

Physical dependence - the body has cravings for the drug (e.g. to
end withdrawal symptoms)

Psychological dependence - coping with daily life challenging; drug

becomes ""needed" to relax, socialize, or sleep

Change habits that you formed while using

Tolerance
o
Diminished psychoactive effects after repeated use
o
Tolerance feeds addiction because users take increasing amounts of a
drug to get desired effect
Withdrawal
o
Discomfort/ distress as the body readjusts to the absence of the drug
o
Tremors, headaches, sleeplessness, sweating, etc.
o
Worsens addiction because users desire to take a drug to end withdrawal
symptoms

List of Risk Factors: Addiction

Using more than intended

Persistent, failed attempts to regulate use

Much time spent preoccupied with the substance, obtaining it, and recovering

Important activities reduced because of use

Continued use despite aversive consequences

Depressants:
Alcohol
Barbiturates
Opiates
Alcohol

Slow neural processing, reduced sympathetic nervous system activity, and

slower thought and physical reaction

Reduced memory formation disrupted REM sleep and reduce synapse formation

Impaired self-control

Poor judgment, self-monitoring and inhibition (ability to stop yourself), increased

accident and aggression (myopia)
Opiates

Morphine and heroin are made from the opium poppy

Depress nervous system activity; reduces anxiety and pain

High doses of opiates produce euphoria

Operate at receptor sites for the body's natural pain and reducers (endorphins)

Stimulants - intensify neural activity and bodily functions

Caffeine

Nicotine

Amphetamines

Methamphetamine

Cocaine

Ecstasy
Hallucinogens

LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)

o
Interfere with serotonin transmission causes hallucinations - images and
other false sensations

Marijuana
o
Binds with brain cannabinoid receptors effect on consciousness: amplified
sensations, disinhibits impulses, euphoric mood, lack of ability to sense
satiety (hunger or thirst)
Adolescent substance use

Smoking/nicotine use usually begin before college in poeple who have friends
that smoke

Adolescents tend to overestimate substance abuse by their peers, getting more

accurate information reduces risk of alcohol abuse

Risk of substance abuse is reduced by

o
Information on long term costs to short term pleasures
o
Finding a sense of person worth and purpose
o
Building skills in resisting perceived peer pressure