Topic: Autobiographical Psychosocial History
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States_of_Consciousness_McAlhaney.pptSTATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Psych 150 – SPCC - Mr. McAlhaney
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Consciousness refers to different levels of awareness of one’s thoughts and feelings
Alertness to nonalertness
Not completely aware = altered state
i.e. sleep
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- Consciousness arises as the brain forms a model of the world that combines external stimulation with internal experience.
- A construct is something we can’t see or touch, but evidence says it exits. Love is a construct.
- Consciousness contains everything we will remember about ourselves and our world
What is Consciousness?
- Our thoughts, memories, emotions, and needs are subjected to this selective process.
- We also perform familiar tasks, such as signing our names, without deliberate attention.
- Many psychologists believe that important mental processes go on outside normal waking consciousness.
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Defining Consciousness
- Awareness of mental processes:
- Decision making, remembering, concentrating, daydreaming, sleeping
- Waking consciousness:
- Thoughts, feelings, perceptions when awake and alert
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Defining Consciousness
- Altered states of consciousness:
- Sleep, daydreaming, dreaming, hypnosis, meditation, intoxication
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FREUD’S LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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- Freud used the iceberg to explain his view of consciousness.
- Unconscious thought can be seen in a young child: a jealous brother keeps undoing the bolts on his brother’s bicycle, but when caught, he really cant explain why he does it.
- AN EXAMPLE OF THE UNCONSCIOUS would be feeling depressed but not knowing exactly why
- Freud believed that the unconscious thought can control our behavior even though we have no awareness of their existence. He believed the unconscious is where we hide memories, emotions, and desires that cause us anxiety.
- Freud said that we might repress (hide) something bad that happened to us (like being sexual abused) and that might manifest itself and cause problems later in life without us being aware.
- Newer views of the unconscious say it may simply work on background tasks, like screening incoming sights, sounds, smells, etc.
Sleep
- Evolutionary psychologists see sleep as an adaptation allowing organisms to conserve and restore energy.
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Did you know...
- World Record – Longest period of time a human has intentionally gone without sleep (no stimulants)
- Randy Gardner (1964) 17-years old
- 264 Hours (11 days)
- Held Press Conference on last day – spoke without slurring
- Health was monitored – negative cognitive & behavioral changes were reported
- After falling asleep – slept 14 hours, 40 minutes.
Facts
- Although some people insist they NEVER dream, research suggests EVERYONE dreams during the night
- In sleep labs, people wakened from REM periods report 80-100% were dreaming w/ vivid & colorful images (even bizarre)
Another way to think of attention and awareness is to think of the mind as analogous to a large but unlighted warehouse, and of attention as a flashlight that is anchored somewhere in the middle of the warehouse. The flashlight is able to shine a very bright but narrow beam of light wherever it is pointed (see Figure 2). The farther from the middle of the warehouse is an object, the more difficult it is to see with the flashlight. Objects in the corners and against the outer walls are impossible to see (the unconscious level).
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SLEEP
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- During stage 1 sleep, which usually lasts about ten minutes, we lose perception of time. If you awaken someone in stage 1, you can fool them into believing they have been sleeping for hours.
- You will go through the stages of sleep 4-6 times in a normal nights sleep.
NREM
NREM
NREM
NREM
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The stages of sleep are not locked in permanetely. If you are deprived of sleep you may spend more time in deep sleep when you finally do sleep. If you are deprived of REM for a few ngihts (alcohol abuse can do this) you may fall into REM sleep more quickly and spend a high percentage of the night in REM sleep.
REM sleep, a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, a high level of brain activity, a deep relaxation of the muscles and dreaming
This is the time when we will dream.
“Active sleep”
15 minutes (beginning of night) to 45 minutes (end of night)
Your voluntary muscles are paralyzed.
There are two (2) major types of sleep
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- Have a friend close his/her eyes and then move their eyes around rapidly. This is similar to what your eyes look like during REM sleep.
- When your body is paralyzed, it is called sleep paralysis and keeps us from acting out our dreams.
- If you are keeping a dream journal and have been having trouble remembering dreams. Set your alarm for about an hour and forty minutes after you will fall asleep. You will be in a REM period and most likely dreaming when your alarm goes off.
NREM sleep. This stands for non-rapid eye movement and is the other type of sleep.
Where we spend the majority of our sleep time
Divided into 4 stages (first four)
Decreases in length as nights’ sleep progresses.
“Quiet sleep”
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Bed-wetting, sleepwalking, and talking in one’s sleep all occur during NREM.
HOW MUCH SLEEP DO I NEED?
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WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T GET SLEEP?
It can affect immune system
It can cause you to hallucinate
You will have less energy
Your cognitive performance can be affected
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Texting and sleep
- 2010 Research – Average teen sends more than 100 texts per day
- Major cause of sleep deprivation in teens
- Texts may awaken you and decrease sleep
- Playing games on your phone before bed can prevent sleep
- Study showed that 77.5% of teens that text or surf web at night have trouble falling asleep
- Can cause mood, behavior, and cognitive problems during the day including ADHD, anxiety, depression
24-hour biological clock; genetically programmed; regulates physiological responses
Sleep is regulated by environment/industrial clock, NOT your circadian rhythm
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS?
CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
Disrupting the circadian rhythm causes problems
Problems that can result from disrupting the circadian clock
Accidents (body prepared for sleep, trying to stay awake to drive, alertness decreases)
Jet lag
illness
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Your circadian rhythm for body temperature influences your sleep preferences
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Treating Circadian Problems
Melatonin - supplements have been proven to help people sleep
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Sleep Disorders
| Definition | Associated with | |
| Insomnia | Failure to get enough sleep at night | Daytime - fatigue, impaired concentration, memory difficulty, lack of well-being |
| Sleep Apnea | Repeated periods during sleep when a person stops breathing | Daytime - exhausted; chances of developing increases when overweight, use alcohol or sedatives |
| Narcolepsy | Suddenly falling asleep or feeling very sleepy during the day | Daytime – sleep attacks accompanied by REM sleep |
NIGHTMARES & NIGHT TERRORS
Nightmares – unpleasant dreams occur during REM
Night terrors – sleep disruptions in stage IV; involve screaming, panic, confusion; often no memory of it
SLEEPWALKING
Most common in young children – will outgrow it
Linked to stress, fatigue, drug use
DREAMS
Everybody dreams
Often incorporate everyday activities into dreams
FREUD (Dream interpretation): Dreams have hidden meaning/reveal the unconscious
MANY DREAM THEORIES:
problem-solving theory
mental housecleaning/clean brain
extending waking life
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HYPNOSIS
state of consciousness resulting from a narrowed focus of attention and characterized by heightened suggestibility
USES:
entertainment
pain reduction
quit smoking
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MEDITATION
The focusing of attention to clear one’s mind and produce relaxation
USES:
lower blood pressure, heart rate
benefits vary greatly
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DRUGS & CONSCIOUSNESS
PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS: chemicals that affect the nervous system and result in altered states
Stimulants: elevate mood, increase energy & alertness
caffiene
cocaine
Meth
Depressants: slow down nervous system
alcohol
sleeping pills
Hallucinogens: change persons perception of reality
marijuana
LSD
MARIJUANA & ALCOHOL
Marijuana
the dried leaves and flowers of Indian hemp (cannabis sativa) that produce altered states of consciousness
effects vary from person to person, situation to situation
studies suggest more dangerous to lungs than cigarette
disrupts memory formation
psychological addiction?
Alcohol
can loosen inhibitions
despite stimulating effect is a depressant
Can cause brain and liver damage
underage drinking has actually decreased
References
Exploring Psychology, 9th Edition by David G. Myers, Worth Publishing Company, 2014.
Life Span Development, 8th Edition by John Santrock McGraw Hill Publishing, 2002
Psychology and Your Life, 1st Edition by Robert S Feldman, McGraw Hill Publishing, 2010
