States of Consciousness

1. States of Consciousness Consciousness- a state of awareness, including a person’s feelings, sensations, ideas, and perceptions

2. Levels of Consciousness We know that various levels exists beyond the conscious level because of.... • Mere-exposure effect • Priming • Blind sight

3. Sleep • Sleep is an altered state of consciousness, characterized by brain activity and inactivity. • We are less aware of our surroundings and senses. • Circadian Rhythm-daily rhythm of biological activity

4. Why do we sleep? • Physical recovery? • Clearing mind of useless information? • No clear answer

5. Sleep Cycle • Use an EEG machine to measure stages of sleep. • When you are the onset of sleep you experience alpha waves. • Produces mild hallucinations, like a feeling of falling.

6. Stage 1 • Kind of awake and kind of asleep. • Only lasts a few minutes, and you usually only experience it once a night. • Your brain produces Theta Waves (lower frequency waves) • “Drifting” • Approx. 10 minutes

7. Stage 2 • More Theta Waves that get progressively slower. • Eyes roll from side to side. • Begin to show sleep spindles…shortbursts of rapid brain waves. • Approx. 30 minutes

8. Stages 3 and 4 • Slow wave sleep. • You produce Delta waves. • If awoken you will be very groggy. • Vital for restoring body’s growth hormones and good overall health. From stage 4, your brain begins to speed up and you go to stage 3, then 2….

9. REM Sleep • Rapid Eye Movement • Brain is very active. • Dreams usually occur in REM. • Body is essentially paralyzed. • 75 % of sleep time

10. Chapter 1: What is psychology? Chapter 2: Psychological Research Methods & Statistics Chapter 3: Infancy & Childhood Chapter 4: Adolescence Chapter 5: Adulthood & Old Age Chapter 6: Nervous & Endocrine Systems

11. Sleep Disorders

12. Insomnia • Failure to get enough sleep at night in order to feel rested the next day • Persistent problems falling asleep • Effects 10% of the population • Many causes

13. Sleep Apnea • A person stops breathing during their sleep. • Wake up momentarily, gasps for air, then falls back asleep. • Snoring • Can be fatal.

14. Narcolepsy • Suffer from sleeplessness and may fall asleep at unpredictable or inappropriate times. • Directly into REM sleep • Less than .001 % of population.

15. Night Terrors • Wake up screaming, panicked, or scared and have no idea why. • Not a nightmare. • Most common in children (boys) between ages 2-8.

16. Somnambulism • Sleep Walking • Most often occurs during the first few hours of sleeping and in stage 4. • If you have had night terrors, you are more likely to sleep walk when older.

17. Make your own study guide.(Choose the most important 5 points from each chapter.) Chapter 1: What is psychology? Chapter 2: Psychological Research/ Methods & Statistics Chapter 3: Childhood Chapter 4: Adolescence Chapter 5: Adulthood & Old Age Chapter 6: Nervous System & Endocrine System

18. Dreams

20. Dreams • Mental activity that takes place during sleep • Everybody dreams. • Dreams become more vivid throughout the night, as REM becomes longer. • Only remember 15 minutes of longest dream • Sleep deprived people have increased REM.

21. Dream Content • Incorporate familiar settings and experiences (living rooms, cars, school, etc.) • Often negative or unpleasant emotions • “Real time”

22. Freud’s Theory of Dreams • Dreams are a roadway into our unconscious. • Clues to “inner thoughts” • Not future telling • Manifest Content (Storyline) • Latent Content (Underlying Meaning)

23. Dream Interpretations • Falling • Fighting • Love • Naked • Shopping • Homework

24. Activation-Synthesis Theory • Our Cerebral Cortex is trying to interpret random electrical activity we have while sleeping. • That is why dreams sometimes make no sense. • Biological Theory

25. Information-Processing Theory • Dreams are a way to deal with the stresses of everyday life. • We tend to dream more when we are more stressed.

26. States of Consciousness Consciousness- a state of awareness, including a person’s feelings, sensations, ideas, and perceptions

27. Sleep • Sleep is an altered state of consciousness, characterized by brain activity and inactivity. • We are less aware of our surroundings and senses.

28. Drugs -Like Hormones from outside the body -Act like neurotransmitters -Gradually absorbed throughout bloodstream

29. Drugs • Our brain is protected by a layer of capillaries called the blood-brain barrier. • The drugs that are small enough to pass through are called psychoactive drugs. • Affect CNS, brain, and our perceptions.

30. Drugs are either…. • Agonists-Add to synapse for biological response • Antagonists-Reverses effect of agonist • Reuptake Inhibitors-neurotransmitter blocker

31. Addiction If a drug is used often, a tolerance is created for the drug. Thus you need more of the drug to feel the same effect. If you stop using a drug you can develop withdrawal symptoms.

32. Stimulants • Speed up body processes. • More powerful ones (like cocaine) give people feelings of invincibility. • “Uppers” • Antagonists • Ie. Caffeine, Cocaine, Nicotine, Methamphetamine

33. Depressants • Slows down body processes. • Reduce arousal or stimulation. • “Downers” • Ie. Alcohol, Barbiturates, Tranquilizers

34. Ie. Alcohol • More than 86 billion dollars are spent annually on alcoholic beverages. • Alcohol is involved in 60% of ALL crimes. • Alcohol is involved in over 70% of sexually related crimes.

35. Hallucinogens • Psychedelics, Dissociatives, Deliriants • Causes changes in perceptions of reality • Synergistic Effect (Don’t amplify, induce.) • Ie. LSD, Mushrooms, Marijuana

36. Opiates • Has depressive and hallucinogenic qualities. • Agonist for endorphins. • Derived from poppy plant. • Ie. Morphine, heroin, methadone, codeine

37. Teratogens • All drugs that cross the placental barrier • Can cause birth abnormalities/defects

38. Hypnosis

39. Hypnosis • Altered state of consciousness? • Posthypnotic Suggestion • Posthypnotic Amnesia

40. Hypnotic Theories Role Theory State Theory Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness. Dramatic health benefits It works for pain best. • Hypnosis is NOT an altered state of consciousness. • Different people have various state of hypnotic suggestibility. • A social phenomenon where people want to believe. • Work better on people with richer fantasy lives.

41. Dissociation Theory • Theory by Ernest Haggard. • We voluntarily divide our consciousness up. • Ice Water Experiment. • We have a hidden observer, a level of us that is always aware.