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Chapter 5
States of Consciousness
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ISBN: 0-131-73180-7
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
How is Consciousness
Related to Other Mental
Processes?
Consciousness can take
many forms, while other
mental processes occur
simultaneously outside our
awareness
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What Consciousness Does For Us
Restricts our attention
Combines sensation with learning and
memory
Allows us to create a mental model of the
world that we can manipulate
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Levels of
Consciousness
Conscious
Preconscious
Unconscious
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Levels of
Consciousness
Conscious –
Brain process of which we are aware
Nonconscious –
Brain process that does not involve
conscious processing (e.g. heart rate,
breathing, control of internal organs)
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Levels of
Consciousness
Preconscious –
Information that is not currently in
consciousness, but can be brought into
consciousness if attention is called to it
Unconscious –
Many levels of processing that occur
without awareness
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What Cycles Occur
in Everyday
Consciousness?
Consciousness changes in
cycles that correspond to our
biological rhythms and the
patterns of stimulation in our
environment
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What Cycles Occur
in Everyday
Consciousness?
Daydreaming –
A common variation of consciousness in
which attention shifts to memories,
expectations, desires, or fantasies and
away from the immediate situation
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Sleep and Dreaming
Circadian rhythms –
Psychological patterns that repeat
approximately every 24 hours
The sleep cycle involves:
REM sleep
Non-REM (NREM) sleep
REM-sleep deprivation leads to REM
rebound
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The Sleep Cycle
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The Function of Sleep
Possible functions of sleep include:
• To conserve energy
• To restore the body (neurotransmitters,
neuron sensitivity)
• To build “neural nets” and flush out
useless information from the brain
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The Need for Sleep
Over the years, the need for REM sleep
decreases considerably, while the need for
NREM sleep diminishes less sharply
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Sleep Debt vs. The Circadian Clock
Sleep debt –
Deficiency caused by not getting the
amount of sleep that one requires for
optimal functioning
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Why We Dream:
A Cross-Cultural Perspective
Folk theories
Scientific approach
• Dreams as meaningful events
• Dreams as random brain activity
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Dreams as Meaningful Events
Freud believed dreams served the
following two functions:
• To guard sleep
• To serve as sources of wish fulfillment
Dream content
• Varies by culture, gender, and age
• Frequently connects with recent experience
• May help us form memories
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Dreams as Random
Brain Activity
Activation-synthesis theory –
Theory that dreams begin with random
electrical activation coming from brain
stem; dreams are brain’s attempt to
make sense of this random activity
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Sleep Disorders
Insomnia –
Involves insufficient sleep, the inability to
fall asleep quickly, frequent arousals, or
early awakenings
Sleep apnea –
Respiratory disorder in which person
intermittently stops breathing while
asleep
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Sleep Disorders
Narcolepsy –
Involves sudden REM sleep attacks
accompanied by cataplexy
Cataplexy –
Sudden loss of muscle control that occurs
before narcoleptic sleep attack; waking
form of sleep paralysis
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Sleep Disorders
Night terrors –
The screaming of a child in deep sleep,
who, once awakened, has no memory of
what mental events might have caused
the fear
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What Other Forms Can
Consciousness Take?
An altered state of
consciousness occurs when
some aspect of normal
consciousness is modified
by mental, behavioral, or
chemical means
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What Other Forms Can
Consciousness Take?
Hypnosis
Meditation
Psychoactive drug states
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Hypnosis
Hypnosis –
Induced state of altered awareness,
characterized by heightened
suggestibility and deep relaxation
Hypnotizability –
Degree to which an individual is
responsive to hypnotic suggestions
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Hypnosis As an
Altered State
Experts disagree about whether
hypnosis involves
A distinct state of consciousness
Heightened motivation
Social processes such as role playing
A dissociate state (Hilgard’s “hidden observer”
view)
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Practical Uses for
Hypnosis
Hypnosis can have practical uses for
Researchers
Psychological treatment
Medical and dental treatment
Hypnotic analgesia –
Diminished sensitivity to pain while under
hypnosis
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Meditation
Meditation –
Form of consciousness change induced
by focusing on a repetitive behavior,
assuming certain body positions and
minimizing external stimulation
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Psychoactive Drug States
Psychoactive drugs –
Chemicals that affect mental processes
and behavior by their effects on the
nervous system
Hallucinogens
Opiates
Depressants
Stimulants
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Hallucinogens
Alter perceptions of the external
environment and inner awareness
(also called psychedelics)
• Mescaline
• LSD
• PCP
• Cannabis
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Opiates
Highly addictive; produce a sense of
well-being and have strong painrelieving properties
• Morphine
• Codeine
• Heroin
• Methadone
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Depressants
Slow down mental and physical
activity by inhibiting transmission of
nerve impulses in the central nervous
system
• Barbiturates
• Benzodiazepines
(e.g. Valium)
• Alcohol
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Stimulants
Arouse the central nervous system,
speeding up mental and physical
responses
• Cocaine
• Amphetamines
• Methamphetamine
• MDMA (ecstasy)
• Caffeine
• Nicotine
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End of Chapter 5
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007