Zahbia Sarfraz Lahore School of Economics PSYCHOLOGY SSC 210 A state of awareness of The sights and sounds of the outside world Our feelings Our thoughts Our own consciousness Consciousness is ID: 612824
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Slide1
States of Consciousness
Zahbia SarfrazLahore School of Economics
PSYCHOLOGY – SSC 210Slide2
A state of awareness of:The sights and sounds of the outside world
Our feelingsOur thoughtsOur own consciousness Consciousness is:Personal
Can be selective
Continuous and ever-changing
What is
Consciouness
?Slide3
Wide awake and thinkingDaydreamingHypnosis
High on drugsDreamingCommon States of ConsciousnessSlide4
Divided consciousness: the splitting off of two conscious activities that occur simultaneously
The ability to focus awareness on a single stimulus to the exclusion of other stimuliDivided ConsciousnessSlide5
Unconscious mind: mental processes that occur without conscious awarenessCocktail party phenomenon
- you are in a room with more than one person talking and you mostly listen to one person tuning out other voicesEvidence that other noises reach your brain even though we are never consciously aware of it The Unconscious MindSlide6
Andrew Mathews and Colin Maclead (1986):
Participants listen to 2 messages – 1 in each earphone Asked to ignore messages from 1 & repeat the other Nonthreatening words (friend) and threatening words (e.g. assault) presentedAsked to keep eye on screen & press key when the word ‘press’ appeared on screen
Results: when threatening word presented in the earphone that was being ignored, subjects pressed key less quickly than otherwise
Conclusion: ignored words were being processed without conscious awareness
The Unconscious MindSlide7
5 stages of sleep
First four stages are non-REMFifth and final stage is REMStage 1Brain activity: beta to alpha to theta (by end of stage)
Hypnagogic state: relaxed state of dreamlike awareness between wakefulness and sleep
‘twilight’ state: neither daydreaming nor dreaming
Myoclonia
: abrupt movement sometimes occurs during this state; sleeper experiences a sense of falling
Lasts about ten minutes
Begin to lose voluntary control over body movements, sensitivity to outside stimuli diminishes, thoughts less bound by reality.
Stages of SleepSlide8
Stage 2EEG pattern: even slower and larger waves; periodic short bursts of activity called ‘sleep spindles’
More relaxed Rolling eye movements stop Less easily disturbed
If someone makes noise, brain will register but probably will not wake up
About 20 minutes
Stages of SleepSlide9
Stage 3 & 4Hard to distinguish from each other - differ only in degree
EEG: onset of very slow waves with large peaks – ‘delta waves’ – last for about 30 minutesSleep walking or talking occurs during this stage
After stage 4 – go back to 3 and 2 and then go to stage 5
Stages of SleepSlide10
Stage 5
EEG: short, high frequency beta waves (similar to those when you are awake)Blood flow to the brain increasesBreathing and pulse rates speed upMuscles are totally relaxed
Rapid eye movements: eyelids shut but eyeballs moving frantically back and forth
Subjects sleeping awakened during:
- non REM stages report dreams about half the time
- REM stages report dreams about 80% of the time
REM dreams are visual, vivid, detailed and
storylike
.
Stages of SleepSlide11
Restorative theoriesSleep rejuvenates usAmount of slow wave sleep depends on how long we’ve been awake
Circadian theoriesEvolutionarily, it has survival valueREM sleep plays an essential role in consolidation of newly learned information from the day before
Why do we sleep?Slide12
Dreams are electrochemical events that involve the brainstem, the cortex and the eyesWhy do we have dreams?
What, if anything, do they mean?Can you guess the three most common themes?What are Dreams?Slide13
Common themesFalling
Being chased or attackedRepeatedly trying but failing to do somethingContent of DreamsSlide14
What influences the dreams we have?Day residue: events and concerns about the person’s waking life
Stimulus incorporation: stimuli occurring during sleep incorporated directly or in altered formThe dreamer himself: lucid dreaming
Content of DreamsSlide15
Why do we dream?
Wish fulfillment (Freud)
Manifest content
Latent content
Activation-synthesis (Hobson &
McCarley
)
Activation: random neural signals firing in the brainstem that spread up to the cortex
Synthesis: the brain then creates images and stories in an effort to make sense out of these random signals
So who’s right?Slide16
InsomniaSleep-onset insomnia
Early-awakening insomniaNarcolepsyPerson suddenly falls asleep during activities usually performed when fully awakeSleep apnea
The sudden interruption of breathing during sleep
Sleep DisordersSlide17
Common characteristics:Distortion of perception
Intense positive emotionsIllogical Indescribable
Can you suggest other characteristics?
Altered States of Consciousness Slide18
Meditation
A method of focusing concentration away from thoughts and feelings and generating a sense of relaxing Mindfulness The state of focusing conscious awareness completely on what is going on at the present momentHypnosis
Altered state of consciousness in which the individual is highly relaxed and susceptible to suggestions
Depersonalization The perceptual experience of one’s body or surroundings becoming distorted or unreal
Altering Consciousness Slide19
Psychotropic drugsVarious classes of drugs that alter conscious experience.
Induce changes in thinking, perception and behavior by affecting neural activity in the brainFour general categoriesDepressants
Stimulants
HallucinogensInhalants
Drugs and Altered ConsciousnessSlide20
Reduce the activity of inhibitory centers of the central nervous systemCreate a sense of relaxation
Reduce inhibitionsE.g. alcohol, sedatives, valium, morphineDepressantsSlide21
Activate motivational centersReduce activity in inhibitory centers of the central nervous system
Provide a sense of energy and well beingE.g. caffeine, cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy), nicotineStimulantsSlide22
Most powerfully alters consciousness Alter perceptual experience
Large doses lead to vivid hallucinationsE.g. LSDHallucinogensSlide23
Common chemicals that are put to dangerous use when inhaled to produce feelings of intoxication E.g. gasoline, glue, nail polish remover
Inhalants