Consciousness

1. Consciousness Ch 5

2. Construct • Can not be seen, touched, or measured directly • Known by their effects on behavior and play roles in psychological theories • Ex: consciousness, intelligence, and emotion

3. What is consciousness? • Awareness • Sensory awareness • Direct inner awareness • Sense of self

4. Sensory Awareness • Things outside yourself • Tend to be more conscious of some things than others • Sudden changes (cool breeze) • Unusual stimuli (dog entering classroom) • Intense stimuli (bright colors, loud noises, sharp pains)

5. Direct Inner Awareness • Being aware of things inside yourself • Thoughts, images, emotions, memories • Aware of how you are feeling, remember a friend you had when you were younger, think about abstract concepts like fairness or love

6. Sense of Self • We are aware of ourselves and our existence • People begin to understand that they are unique individuals as they get older

7. Levels of Consciousness • Conscious Level • What you are currently aware of/thinking about • Preconscious Level • Not in awareness right now but could recall them if you had to by directing your inner awareness (attention) to them • Unconscious Level • Unavailable to awareness under most circumstances • Nonconscious Level • Basic biological functions

8. Freud’s view of the unconscious level • Believed certain memories are painful and that some of our impulses (aggressiveness) are considered unacceptable • We use mental strategies (defense mechanisms) to push painful or unacceptable ideas out of our consciousness • Protect ourselves from feelings of anxiety, guilt, and shame

9. Altered States of Consciousness • Person’s sense of self or sense of the world changes • Sleep • Under the influence of drugs • Meditation • Biofeedback • Hypnosis

10. Circadian Rhythms • Biological clocks • In humans, include sequence of bodily changes, like temperature, blood pressure, and sleepiness/wakefulness, that occurs every 24 hours • Most studied: sleep/wake cycle

11. Stages of Sleep • Stage 1: lightest, alpha to theta waves, brief dreamlike images (30-40 mins) • Stages 2, 3, and 4: sleep gets deeper • Stages 3 and 4: delta waves • Stage 4: deepest, most difficulty if waking from this stage (NREM is deeper than REM) • Move through 4, 3, 2, and then REM

12. REM Sleep • Rapid Eye Movement • Breathe irregularly, blood pressure rises, heart beats faster, brains waves similar to stage 1 sleep, body is basically paralyzed • Whole cycle in about 90 mins • Typical 8 hr night, move through stages about 5 times • REM gets longer each time

13. Why do people sleep? • Revive tired body and build up resistance to infection • Help recover from stress • What happens if we don’t get sleep? • Become irritable, difficulty focusing eyes, speech difficulties and memory lapses • Catching up takes a long time

14. Why do we need REM sleep? • When deprived of REM sleep, people experience REM-rebound • Having much more REM sleep when they do finally sleep • When sleep deprived, tend to learn slower than usual, forget more rapidly • Some research suggests REM may help brain development in infants and “exercise” brain cells in adults

15. Dreams • Most vivid dreams happen during REM • Can be in black and white or color • During REM tend to have plots and can be very realistic • During NREM sleep, plots are more vague and images more fleeting • Most are about everyday events

16. Freudian View of Dreams • Dreams reflect a person’s unconscious wishes and urges • Some are unacceptable/painful and these are the ones that show up most often in dreams • Not always obvious • Dream in symbols which can be interpreted

17. Sleep Problems • Insomnia: inability to fall/stay asleep • Alcohol can cause • Sleeping pills probably not greatest option • Fairly common • Nightmares: bad dreams during REM • Night Terrors: may actually move during sleep • During NREM sleep, most common in kids • Episode of fear and panic

18. Sleepwalking: during deep stages of sleep • Typically don’t remember what did/said • No evidence that sleepwalkers become violent/upset if awakened, but sit down 1st • Most children outgrow it as they mature • Probably also reflects immaturity of nervous system • Sleep Apnea: breathing interruption during sleep • When air passages are blocked • Snoring and obesity associated with it • Breathing mask worn to help

19. Narcolepsy: rare sleep problem in which people suddenly fall asleep no matter the time or where they are • Episodes can be dangerous • Believed to be a genetic disorder or REM sleep functioning

20. Meditation • Focus on peaceful, repetitive stimulus • Become relaxed • Can help people lower their blood pressure • Make stresses of outside world fade away

21. Biofeedback • Provides information about something happening in the body • Used to learn to create brain waves produced when relaxing – alpha waves – as a way of coping with tension • Should only be used under direct supervision of a medical professional

22. Hypnosis • People respond to suggestions and behave as though they are in a trance, relaxed state • Used in variety of ways: • Anesthetic/pain prevention • Reduce anxiety, manage pain, or overcome fears • Used with witnesses to crime (just as likely to make mistakes as others) • Quitting bad habits through posthypnotic suggestion

23. Drugs and Consciousness • Addiction: after a person takes a drug for a while, his/her body craves it just to feel normal • Have a number of effects on consciousness

24. Depressants • Slow activity of nervous system • Alcohol: relax, put to sleep, even lethal • Long term effects as well • Intoxication = drunkenness • Less able to focus on the consequences of behavior • Can bring feelings of elation, take away inhibitions • Can be excuse for behaviors otherwise unacceptable

25. Narcotics: addictive depressants that have been used to relieve pain and induce sleep • Ex: Morphine, heroin • Can give intense feelings of pleasure, but coming off can put the user in deep depression • High doses impair judgment and memory, cause drowsiness and stupor • High doses can depress respiratory system to point of coma and even death • Experience withdrawal when trying to stop using them (tremors, chills, insomnia, vomiting, diarrhea…)

26. Stimulants • Increase activity of nervous system • Speed up heart rate, and breathing rate • Nicotine: spurs release of adrenaline • May make people feel more alert and attentive but doesn’t improve ability to perform complex tasks • Reduces appetite and raises rate at which the body changes food to energy • Addicting • Serious health risks: cancer, emphysema, low birth weight, etc… • Second-hand smoke can be hazardous as well

27. Amphetamines: especially known for helping people stay awake and for reducing appetite • “speed” or “uppers” • Can produce feelings of pleasure, especially in high doses • High doses can cause restlessness, insomnia, loss of appetite, and irritability • Can cause hallucinations (perception of an object/sound that seems real but is not) • Can cause delusions (false idea that seems real)

28. Cocaine: • Produces feelings of pleasure, reduces hunger, deadens pain, and boosts self-confidence • Raises blood pressure and decreases supply of oxygen to the heart while speeding up the heart rate (sometimes leads to death) • Originally a pain killer • Freud used it to overcome depression • Overdoses can cause restlessness, insomnia, trembling, headaches, nausea, convulsions, hallucinations, delusions • Crack cocaine is particularly harmful form

29. Hallucinogens • Drug that produces hallucinations • May causes relaxation or feelings of pleasure • Can also cause feelings of panic • Marijuana: produces feelings of relaxation and mild hallucinations • Impairs perception and coordination along with memory and learning • Can cause anxiety and confusion • Strong intoxication can cause frightening experiences

30. LSD: sometimes called acid • Much stronger than marijuana and can produce more intense hallucinations which can be very bizarre • Often convinced that while under the influence they have achieved great insights but once drug wears off, cannot recall • Effects are not predictable • Some so frightening that users injure themselves seriously or even commit suicide because in a panic • Some lasting effects (memory loss, violent outbursts, nightmares, feelings of panic) • Even flashbacks

31. Treatment for Drug Abuse • Detoxification: removal of harmful substance from the body (most common with alcohol and narcotics) • Maintenance Programs: given controlled and less dangerous amounts of the drug or some less addictive substitute (narcotics) • Counseling: individually or group • Support Groups: in setting to provide emotional and moral support (ex: AA, NA)