71 WHAT IS THE PLACE OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN PSYCHOLOGYS HISTORY 1880s Psychology at its beginning was defined as description and explanation of states of consciousness First half of 20 ID: 697175
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Slide1
Module 7
Consciousness: Some Basic ConceptsSlide2
7-1:
WHAT IS THE PLACE OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN PSYCHOLOGY’S HISTORY?
1880s: Psychology at its beginning was defined as description and explanation of states of consciousnessFirst half of 20th century: Direct observation of behaviorBy the 1960s: Consciousness nearly lost; behaviorismBut after 1960: Psychology began regaining consciousness. Study of how it is altered by hypnosis, drugs, and meditation; importance of cognition. Today: Under the influence of cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience, our consciousness has reclaimed its place as an important area of research.
Consciousness
: Some Basic Concepts
Defining
ConsciousnessSlide3
INSADCO Photography/
Alamy
ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESSConsciousnessAwareness of self and environmentAltered states of consciousness Examples include daydreaming, drug-induced hallucinating, meditatingAltered states spontaneous, physiologically induced, or psychologically induced
Defining ConsciousnessSlide4
Meditation
Hypnosis
Sensory deprivation
Some are psychologically induced
Food or oxygen starvation
Orgasm
Hallucinations
Some are physiologically induced
Dreaming
Drowsiness
Daydreaming
Some states occur spontaneously
Altered
States
of ConsciousnessSlide5
EVIDENCE OF AWARENESS? When asked to imagine playing tennis or navigating her home, a
noncommunicative
patient’s brain (top) exhibited activity similar to a healthy person’s brain (bottom).Cognitive neuroscientists Interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with our mental processesSome suggest consciousness arises from synchronized brain activity
Studying ConsciousnessSlide6
7-2: HOW DOES SELECTIVE ATTENTION DIRECT OUR PERCEPTIONS?
Selective attention
Focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulusEstimates indicate that our five senses take in 11,000,000 bits of information per secondWe consciously process about 40 bits of theseOur minds unconsciously process the restCocktail party effect: our ability to attend to relevant bits of information and ignoring irrelevant bitsSelective AttentionSlide7
Rapid toggling between activities is common today.
Multitasking distracts brain resources allocated to driving; brain
activity in areas vital to driving decreases average of 37 percent when conversation occurs.Cell-phone use increases accident risk fourfold (even with hands-free use). Teen crashes or near-crashes increase sevenfold when dialing or reaching for phone.Selective Attention and AccidentsSlide8
Inattentional
blindness
Failure to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.It is a by-product of focusing attention on some part of the environment.Change blindnessFailing to notice changes in the environment.We experience popout when our attention is unintentionally drawn to distinct stimuli in the environment; they draw our eye and demand our attention.Selective InattentionSlide9
7-3
:
WHAT IS THE DUAL PROCESSING BEING REVEALED BY TODAY’S COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE?Dual processingPrinciple that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracksPerceptions, memory, attitudes, and other cognitions all operate on two levels, a conscious, deliberate “high road” and an unconscious, automatic “low road”BlindsightCondition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it
Dual Processing: The Two-Track MindSlide10
In this compelling demonstration of
blindsight
and the two-track mind, researcher Lawrence Weiskrantz trailed a blindsight patient down a cluttered hallway. Although told the hallway was empty, the patient meandered around all the obstacles without any awareness of them.When the blind can “see”Slide11
Parallel processing
Processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions
Unconscious parallel processing is faster than conscious sequential processing.Both processes are essential. Parallel processing enables your mind to take care of routine business. Sequential processing is needed for solving new problems, which require your focused attention.Dual Processing: The Two-Track Mind