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CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 3
What is the Nature of Consciousness?
Brain’s awareness of internal and external stimulation
Consciousness, for some, seems like a theatre inside the head.
Freud believes the ego is the center of consciousness.
Behaviorists believe that consciousness is a byproduct of behavior.
* Consciousness arises as the brain forms a model of the world that
combines external stimulation with internal experience.
What does Consciousness do for us?
Restricts what we notice and pay attention to
Interpretation of the world—personal perception
Helps us to select and store personally meaningful stimuli
Allows us to draw actively on lessons stored in memory
Levels of Consciousness
Preconscious—Information not currently in consciousness but can be
recalled to consciousness after something calls attention to them
Subconscious—Nonattended stimulation that gets registered and
evaluated below the level of consciousness
Unconscious—fainting, comatose, under anesthesia/ Freudian—part
of the mind that houses memories, desires, and feelings that would be
threatening if brought to consciousness.
Daydreaming
Daydreaming is a mild form of consciousness alteration/ shift of
attention away from the immediate situation or task to other thought.
Fantasy used to work out difficulties or wonder about their world
Escape from tedious, boring or frightening situations
Sleeping and Dreaming
Main Events of Sleep
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) – quick eye movements under the
eyelids that appear at periodic intervals during sleep
Sleep paralysis, during REM, is a condition in which a sleeper
is unable to move any of the voluntary muscles, except those controlling
eyes.
Need for Sleep
Sleep time varies with personality
Sleep duration and the sleep cycle change over one’s lifetime
Why we Dream
Freud—dreams represent the “royal road to the unconscious”,
operates on 2 levels-manifest content (superficial and obvious meaning of
dream) and latent content (real and hidden meaning of a dream disguised by
symbolism).
Dreams begin with random electrical activation coming from the brain
stem and the brain’s attempt to make sense of this random activity.
Dreams provide the brain with an internal source of needed
stimulation.
Sleep Disorders
Insomnia—Insufficient sleep, inability to fall asleep, frequent
arousals, or early awakenings
Sleep Apnea—Person intermittently stops breathing while asleep
Narcolepsy—Sudden REM-sleep attacks accompanies by a sudden
loss of muscle control
Hypnosis
Induced altered state of awareness characterized by deep relaxation,
heightened suggestibility, and highly focused attention
Diminished sensitivity to pain, heightened motivation to focus
attention and channel energy into suggested activities
Medical use includes pain control for procedures in which the patient
may be hypersensitive to usual anesthesia
Psychological use can help desensitize phobic patients to fearproducing stimuli, relaxation training program to combat stress
Meditation
Induced by focusing on a repetitive behavior, assuming certain body
positions, and minimizing external stimulation. Enhances self-knowledge
and well being by losing self-awareness.
Hallucinations
False perceptions that occur in the absence of objective external
stimulation. May be s sign of drug states or of severe mental disorders
Deprivation of Stimuli
Brain may manufacture its own
Children’s imaginary friends
Overstimulation can create hallucination—high fever, epilepsy, and
migraine headaches
Psychoactive Drug States
For millennia, drugs have been used by our ancestors to alter their
perceptions of reality.
All psychoactive drugs impair the emotion-based brain mechanisms
that help us make good decision.
Hallucinogens—alter perceptions of reality
Cannabis—alter perception, sedate, pain relief and mild euphoria
Opiates—suppress physical sensation and response to stimulation
Depressants—slow down the mental and physical activity of the
body by inhibiting central nervous system activity.
Stimulants—increase central nervous system activity, speeding up
both mental and physical rates of activity.