Download consciousness - psychoLogy 101

CONSCIOUSNESS
Rivera,
Kristina
I. What is Consciousness?
II. Altered states: sleep
III. Dreams
IV. Altered States: Effects
of Hypnosis
V. Altered States: The
Influence of
Psychoactive Drugs
William James asserts that
there is no single stream of consciousness but rather
multiple “channels”
CONSCIOUSNESS
influenced by their particular social groups and
cultures
CONSCIOUSNESS
Is your awareness of everything that is going on
around you and inside your own head at any given
moment, which you use to organize your behavior
(Farthing, 1992)
This includes your thoughts, sensations, and
feelings.
CONSCIOUSNESS
WAKIN
Where people’s thoughts, feelings, and sensations
are clear and organized, and they feel alert.
G
Altered
states
of
CONSCIOUSNESS
Occurs when there is a shift in the quality or
pattern of mental activity.
State of divided consciousness
I. What is Consciousness?
II. Altered states: sleep
III. Dreams
IV. Altered States: Effects
of Hypnosis
V. Altered States: The
Influence of
Psychoactive Drugs
“gentle tyrant” (Webb, 1992)
ALTEREDSLEEP
STATES:
One of the human body’s biological
rhythms
Sleep:
role of the hypothala
Circadian Rhythm
“circa” = about “diem” = day
“about a day” to complete
ALTERED
STATES: sleep
ALTERED
STATES: sleep
SCN – the
internal clock
that tells
people when to
wake up and
when to fall
asleep
ALTERED
STATES: sleep
Sleep:
role of the hypothala
• Serotonin levels
• Body temperature
• SCN – may be responsible for resetting the
body’s biological “clock” to a 24-hour period
Price of not sleeping
• microsleeps
• concentration problems, inability to do simple
tasks
• sleep deprivation
Adaptive theory of
• Product of evolution
sleep
HOW
• to avoid predators at night
WHY
Restorative theory of
sleep
• chemicals replaced,
cellular damage repaired
• Body growth
rapid eye moveme
Sleep:
Rem
Non-rem
• Most dreams take
place
• Deep and restful
• Voluntary muscles are
inhibited
• Body is free to move
around
• After and emotionally
stressful
• After a physically
demanding day
Stages of sleep
Stages of sleep
Sleep disorders
• Nightmares and REM behavior disorder
• Sleepwalking/somnambulism
• Night terrors
• Insomnia
• Sleep apnea
• Narcolepsy
I. What is Consciousness?
II. Altered states: sleep
III. Dreams
IV. Altered States: Effects
of Hypnosis
V. Altered States: The
Influence of
Psychoactive Drugs
dreams
I. What is Consciousness?
II. Altered states: sleep
III. Dreams
IV. Altered States: Effects
of Hypnosis
V. Altered States: The
Influence of
Psychoactive Drugs
hypnosis
a state of consciousness in which a
person is especially susceptible to
suggestion.
Key Steps in
Hypnosis
Four steps are always present:
1. The hypnotist tells the person to focus on what is
being said.
2. The person is told to relax and feel tired.
3. The hypnotist tells the person to “let go” and accept
suggestions easily.
4. The person is told to use vivid imagination.
hypnosis
The real key to hypnosis seems to be a
heightened state of suggestibility.
Key Steps in
Hypnosis
Basic Suggestion Effect is the tendency
of an individual to perform actions
they don't normally do because the
burden of doing it falls to the
responsibility of the hypnotist.

Dissociation
Two Views of Why
Hypnosis Works

Social Role-playing
Ernest Hilgard
believed that hypnosis worked only on the
immediateconscious mind of a person, while a part of
that person’s mind (a “hidden observer”) remained
aware of all that was going on.
Hypnosis
as Dissociation
One part of the mind, the conscious part, is
thinking about something, while the other part is
actually doing something else entirely.
Hypnosis
as Dissociation
In the same way, Hilgard believes that there is a
hidden part of the mind that is very much aware of
the hypnotic subject’s activities and sensations,
even though the “hypnotized” part of the mind is
blissfully unaware of these same things.
as Social Role-pla
Hypnosis
The Social-Cognitive Theory of Hypnosis
assumes that people who are hypnotized are not
in an altered state but are merely playing the
role expected of them in the situation
as Social Role-pla
Hypnosis
Social roles are very powerful influences on
behavior, as anyone who has ever worn a uniform
can understand—the uniform stands for a
particular role that becomes very easy to play.
hypnosis
I. What is Consciousness?
II. Altered states: sleep
III. Dreams
IV. Altered States: Effects
of Hypnosis
V. Altered States: The
Influence of
Psychoactive Drugs
The Influence of
Psycho-Active Drugs
Psycho-Active Drugs are drugs that alter thinking, perception
and memory.
Used in sedation in medical
operations, relieving pain of
injuries or diseases, and
control various conditions
such as sleep disorders or
attention defiricit disorders.
Dangers include physical and
psychological dependence,
and drug overdose.
Psycho-Active Drugs
Physical Dependence is a condition occurring
when a person's body becomes unable to
function normally without a particular drug.
Drug Tolerance is a condition that happens when the
person continues to use the drug, and larger doses
of the drug are needed to achieve the same initial
effects.
Psycho-Active Drugs
Symptoms of Withrawal are physical
sensations such as headaches that occur
because the body is trying to adust with
the absence of the drug.
Basic Signs of Physical
Dependence
Compulsive
Use

If cocaine is available, the dependent person has
to use it. He or she can’t say no to it.

Loss of Control
Those dependent upon cocaine can’t stop using it
when it’s available until it’s all gone or until they
have exhausted themselves to the point where
they can no longer function.
Basic Signs of Physical
Dependence

Disregard for the Consequences of
Use
Cocaine addicts will lie, cheat, steal,
lose their jobs, damage or break up
relationships, and use rent money to
buy cocaine—nothing else matters to
them but the drug.
Psychological
Dependence
belief that the drug is needed to
continue a feeling of emotional or
psychological well-being.
Unlike Physical Dependence-inducing drugs which give
negative reinforcement through withdrawals,
Psychological Dependence-inducing drugs give off
positive reinforcement wherein there might not be
withdrawal to go through or from.
Psychological
Dependence
Depressants
Stimulants
Major Drug Categories
Narcotics
Hallucinogenics
Drugs: stimulants
drugs that increase the functioning of the nervous system.
Stimulants won’t give people any extra energy,
but they will cause people to burn up
whatever energy reserves they do have.
They also depress the appetite, which is
another function of the sympathetic
division. When the energy reserves are
exhausted, or the drug wears off, a “crash”
is inevitable.
Drugs: stimulants

Cocaine is a natural drug found in coca plant leaves
that produces feelings of euphoria (a feeling of
great happiness), energy, power, and pleasure.

Amphetamines are stimulants that are
synthesized (made) in laboratories
rather than being found in nature.
Drugs: stimulants

Nicotine is a toxic stimulant that produces a slight
“rush” or sense of arousal as it raises blood pressure
and accelerates the heart, as well as providing a rush
of sugar into the bloodstream by stimulating the
release of adrenalin.
Caffeine is a mild stimulant that helps
maintain alertness, and can increase the
effectiveness of some pain relievers such
as aspirin.

Depressants
Stimulants
Major Drug Categories
Narcotics
Hallucinogenics
Drugs: Depressants
Barbiturates are drugs that have a sedative
(sleep-inducing) effect and are also called as
Major Tranquilizers. Drug Interaction with
alcohol and overdosage can lead to death. The
effects, depending on dosage levels, range from
mild sedation or sleepiness to unconsciousness
or coma.

Depressants are drugs that decrease the functioning of the
nervous system and slow it down.
Drugs: Depressants

Benzodiazepines are drugs that are used to lower
anxiety and reduce stress, and are also called as the
Minor Tranquilizers. They are considered safer than
barbiturates and are now the drugs of choice to
treat sleep problems, nervousness, and anxiety.
Drugs: Depressants
Alcohol, the chemical resulting from the
fermentation or distillation of various kinds of
vegetable matter, is the most commonly used and
abused depressant. Alcohol depresses a person’s
natural inhibitions, the social rules people have
learned that allow them to get along with others and
function in society.

Depressants
Stimulants
Major Drug Categories
Narcotics
Hallucinogenics
painkilling depressant drugs
derived from the opium
poppy.
Drugs: narcotics
class of drugs that suppress the sensation
of pain by binding to and stimulating the
nervous system’s natural receptor sites for
endorphins, the neurotransmitters that
naturally deaden pain sensations.
Opium, made from the opium poppy,
has pain-relieving and euphoriainducing properties that have been
known for at least 2,000 years.
Drugs: narcotics
Morphine is created by dissolving opium in
an acid and then neutralizing the acid with
ammonia. It is still used today but in carefully
controlled doses andfor short periods of
time.

Drugs: narcotics

Heroin is a purer form of morphine, and since
people theorized that the impurities in
morphine were the substances creating the
harmful side effects, they hailed it as the new
wonder drug. It did not take long, however, for
doctors to realize that heroin was even more
powerfully addictive than morphineor opium.
Narcotics: why they’re
Opium and its addictive
derivatives, morphine and heroin,
duplicate the action of endorphins so well that the
nervous system slows or stops its production of the
neurotransmitter. When the drug wears off, there is
no protection against any kind of pain, causing the
severe symptoms of withdrawal associated with these
drugs. The addict who tries to quit using the drug
feels such pain that the urge to use again becomes
unbearable.
Stimulants
Depressants
Major Drug Categories
Narcotics
Hallucinogenics
Drugs: hallucinogenics
drugs that alter perceptions and may cause hallucinations.
cause the brain to alter its interpretation of
sensations and can produce sensory distortions
similar to synesthesia in which sensations cross
over each other — colors have sound, sounds have
smells, and so on. False sensory perceptions, called
hallucinations, are often experienced, especially
with the more powerful hallucinogens.
Nonmanufactured Highs
Hallucinogenics: 2 basic
types

Manufactured Highs
(Laboratory-made)
Hallucinogenics:
manufactured
LSD
or lysergic acid diethylamide is

synthesized from a grain fungus called ergot.
The effect it has on a person’s ability to
perceive reality is highly dangerous. Real
dangers and hazards in the world may go
unnoticed by a person“lost” in an LSD fantasy,
and people under the influence of this drug
may make poor decisions.

Hallucinogenics:
manufactured
PCP or phenyl cyclohexyl piperidine can
be a hallucinogen,stimulant, depressant, or
an analgesic (painkilling) drug, depending
on the dosage. As with LSD, users of PCP
can experience hallucinations, distorted
sensations, and very unpleasant effects.
Hallucinogenics:
manufactured
Ecstacy or MDMA is a stimulatory

hallucinogenic that produces a mixture of
psychomotor stimulant and hallucinogenic
effects.
Hallucinogenics:
NONmanufacture
Mescaline
comes from the buttons found on
d
the peyote cactus and haslong been a part of

many Native American religious and spiritual
rituals.

Psilocybin is another naturally occurring
hallucinogen, contained in a certain kind
of mushroom, often referred to as
“magic mushrooms.”
Hallucinogenics:
NONmanufacture
Marijuana
is best known for its ability to
d
produce a feeling of well-being, mild

intoxication, and mild sensory distortions or
hallucinations. The most psychoactive
cannabinoid, and the active ingredient in
marijuana, is tetrahydrocannabinol. Studies
have concluded that while marijuana can
create a powerful psychological dependency, it
does not produce physical dependency or
physical withdrawal symptoms.