Consciousness CHAPTER 4. I. The Scope of Consciousness

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 4 Consciousness I. The Scope of Consciousness 1. State of consciousness refers to the characteristics of consciousness at any particular moment. (see States of Consciousness) 2. The conscious level of consciousness holds the thoughts and mental processes that you are aware of from moment to moment. (see Levels of Consciousness) Example: You are conscious of the words you are reading at this moment. 3. The nonconscious level of activity includes physiological processes that you are not conscious of. Training in techniques such as biofeedback can make you conscious of them indirectly. (see Levels of Consciousness) Example: Your brain is sensing the amount of sugar in your blood, but you cannot consciously experience this activity, even if you try to attend to it. 4. The preconscious level of activity stores sensations, memories, inferences, and assumptions that are not at the conscious level but that can be easily brought into consciousness. (see Levels of Consciousness) Example: Before reading this sentence, you probably did not feel your socks or your underwear on your skin. But now that you are attending to them, you can feel these physical sensations. They were at the preconscious level but were easily brought into consciousness, in this case by a shift in attention.

2 Chapter 4: Consciousness The unconscious level refers to mental activity that can alter thoughts, feelings, and actions, but that is difficult to bring to conscious awareness. According to Freud, unconscious activities especially involve unacceptable sexual and aggressive urges. (see Levels of Consciousness) Example: A wish to kill your sister is a thought that could cause you anxiety. According to Freud, this thought would be kept in the unconscious to prevent it from doing so. 6. The subconscious level is another term to describe the mental level at which influential, but normally inaccessible, mental processes take place. (see Levels of Consciousness) Example: In studies of priming, people could not remember having seen certain words on a study list; however, they could solve anagrams of those words faster than anagrams of words they had not seen previously. The influence of having studied the words was subconscious and inaccessible. II. Thinking Critically: Can Subliminal Messages Change Your Behavior? III. Focus on Research: Subliminal Messages in Rock Music 7. Altered states of consciousness occur when changes in the stream of consciousness are noticeably different from normal waking experience. (see Altered States of Consciousness) IV. Sleeping and Dreaming 8. Slow-wave sleep is a term for stages three and four of sleep, when breathing is slow, heartbeat is regular, and blood pressure is reduced. (see Stages of Sleep) Remember: These stages of sleep are called slow-wave sleep because your EEG shows slower and slower waves as you progress through stages three and four of sleep. 9. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is characterized by EEG and physiological measures (heart rate, respiration, blood pressure) that are similar to those that occur when the person is awake. During REM sleep, the eyes move rapidly back and forth, and muscle tone decreases to the point of near-paralysis. (see Stages of Sleep) Remember: This stage is called paradoxical because physiologically our bodies and brains are very active while our muscles are functionally paralyzed. 10. Insomnia is the inability to fall or stay asleep. People with insomnia report feeling tired during the day. (see Sleep Disorders) Remember: The Latin word in means no, not, or without. Somnus means sleep. Therefore, insomnia means without sleep. 11. Narcolepsy is a disorder in which people fall directly into REM sleep from an active, waking state. They experience all the physiological changes that occur during REM sleep, including reduced muscle tone. (see Sleep Disorders) 12. Sleep apnea is a disorder in which people stop breathing momentarily while sleeping, up to hundreds of times per night. Apnea episodes wake the sleepers, and thus people suffering from this disorder feel unrested in the morning and tired throughout the day. (see Sleep Disorders) 13. In sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), a sleeping baby stops breathing but does not awaken and therefore suffocates. (see Sleep Disorders)

3 78 Chapter 4: Consciousness 14. Sleepwalking, which occurs during non-rem sleep and is most common during childhood, is walking while asleep. Awakening a sleepwalker is not dangerous. (see Sleep Disorders) 15. Nightmares are frightening dreams that occur during REM sleep. (see Sleep Disorders) 16. Night terrors, which occur during stage four sleep, are frightening non-rem dreams that bring on intense fear after waking. These fearful episodes may last for as long as half an hour. (see Sleep Disorders) 17. REM behavior disorder is similar to sleepwalking, but it occurs during REM sleep. The normal paralysis that accompanies REM sleep is absent, thus allowing a person to act out dreams. This can be especially dangerous when the dreams are of a violent nature. (see Sleep Disorders) 18. Circadian rhythm is a term for the physiological and behavioral patterns that repeat on a twentyfour-hour cycle. These cycles are governed by an internal biological clock. (see Why Do People Sleep?) 19. Jet lag is a disruption of the sleep-wake cycle, resulting in a pattern of fatigue, irritability, inattention, and sleeping problems. (see Why Do People Sleep?) 20. Dreams are storylike sequences of images, sensations, and perceptions that occur during REM sleep. (see Dreams and Dreaming) 21. Lucid dreaming is knowing during a dream that you are dreaming. (see Dreams and Dreaming) Remember: The word lucid means clear or readily understood. Lucid dreamers clearly know while still asleep that they are dreaming. V. Hypnosis 22. Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness brought on by special techniques and characterized by susceptibility to suggestions made by the hypnotist. (see Hypnosis) Example: Maria, who is hypnotized, believes that she can see a cat sitting on her lap because the hypnotist has suggested to her that a cat is there. 23. Hypnotic susceptibility is the degree to which people can become hypnotized and follow a hypnotist s suggestions. (see Experiencing Hypnosis) 24. The state theory of hypnosis maintains that hypnosis is a special altered state of consciousness. Supporters of the state theory believe that real, significant changes in basic mental processes take place during hypnosis. (see Explaining Hypnosis) 25. The role theory of hypnosis states that people only play the role of being hypnotized, which includes complying with the hypnotist s directions. (see Explaining Hypnosis) 26. Dissociation theory contends that hypnosis is a splitting of the central control of thought processes and behavior. The hypnotized person agrees to give some of the control to the hypnotist. (see Explaining Hypnosis) VI. Linkages: Meditation, Health, and Stress VII. Psychoactive Drugs 27. Psychoactive drugs bring about psychological changes by affecting the physiological functioning of the brain. (see Psychoactive Drugs) Example: LSD, a psychedelic, changes the perception of sensory information and drastically alters thought processes.

4 Chapter 4: Consciousness Psychopharmacology is the study of psychoactive drugs. (see Psychopharmacology) 29. The blood-brain barrier is part of the structure of the blood vessels that supply the brain. Many chemicals cannot permeate the barrier and thus do not have access to brain tissue. (see Psychopharmacology) 30. Agonists are drugs that mimic the effects of a particular neurotransmitter by binding to its receptors. (see Psychopharmacology) Example: Agonists for endorphins stimulate endorphin receptors, resulting in the same moodelevating response as an endorphin would cause. 31. Antagonists prevent neurotransmitters from having an effect by blocking receptors ability to accept specific neurotransmitters. (see Psychopharmacology) Example: Naloxone, an endorphin antagonist, keeps endorphins from binding with receptors, thereby preventing a high. 32. Substance abuse is the self-administration of drugs in ways that are disapproved of by one s culture. (see The Varying Effects of Drugs) 33. Psychological dependence is the process whereby a person needs to continue taking a drug, despite its adverse effects, in order to maintain a sense of well-being. (see The Varying Effects of Drugs) 34. Physical dependence, or addiction, is the process whereby the body has a physical need for a drug. Addicts who discontinue drug use typically experience very unpleasant, and often dangerous, withdrawal symptoms. (see The Varying Effects of Drugs) Example: Carol s addiction to a barbiturate became evident when, after attempting to quit using the drug, she experienced restlessness, violent outbursts, convulsions, and hallucinations. 35. A withdrawal syndrome is what occurs when a drug to which a person is physically addicted is removed. Symptoms vary from drug to drug, but they usually include an intense craving for the drug and its effects. (see The Varying Effects of Drugs) 36. Tolerance, a by-product of addiction, is the process whereby repeated use of an addictive substance results in the body s requiring ever-increasing amounts of the drug to achieve the same psychological and physical effects. (see The Varying Effects of Drugs) Example: After using cocaine daily for several weeks, Jesse began to need more and more of the drug to achieve the same high as he had initially experienced. 37. Depressants, which include alcohol and barbiturates, reduce activity in the central nervous system. (see Depressants) Remember: Depressants usually make a person sedate or calm. 38. Stimulants increase central nervous system and behavioral activity. They include amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine, caffeine, and MDMA. Overdoses of cocaine, especially of crack cocaine, can be deadly. (see Stimulants) 39. Opiates, including opium, morphine, heroin, and codeine, produce sleep and pain relief. These substances are highly addictive, and overdoses can be fatal. (see Opiates) Remember: In Chapter 2, you learned that your brain produces a class of neurotransmitters called endorphins, which have effects similar to those of morphine.

5 80 Chapter 4: Consciousness 40. Hallucinogens or psychedelics, such as LSD and marijuana, cause a loss of contact with reality and changes in thought, perception, and emotion. Because many of these changes are similar to symptoms of psychotic forms of mental illness, these drugs are sometimes referred to as psychotomimetics, meaning that they mimic psychosis. (see Hallucinogens)