Consciousness Expanding the Boundaries of Psychological Inquiry 02 06 2013 Sleep Paralysis our body becomes paralyzed while we are sleeping People awaken cognitively but their brain and muscles are still impaired Consciousness Our subjective experience of the world our bodies and our mental perspectives Circadian Rhythms cyclical changes that occur on a roughly 24 hour basis Biological processes like hormone release body temperature Regulated by the biological clock SCN of the hypothalamus Triggers our sense of fatigue via increasing melatonin Melatonin makes us feel tired Melatonin is released in the afternoon because we sleep at night and so in order to make sure we are sleepy when darkness falls we release melatonin How much light the retina is receiving tells the body how much melatonin it should send Jet Lag The more time zones passed through the longer it takes the body s clock to reset Get rid of it by taking a nap is not good The best thing to do to get rid of jet lag is to go outside Your eyes will get information knowing its light outside by sending the info to your brain Late Work Shifts Sleep Increase risk of injuries fatal accidents health problems How much we need to sleep is done by age Newborns 16 hours College Students 9 hours Most people 7 10 hours People with mutation 6 hours or less Sleep Deprivation One night edginess irritability poor concentration the next day Multiple nights often experience depression difficulties in learning and attending slowed reaction times Stages of Sleep More than 4 days of severe deprivation can hear voices or see things We cycle through 5 stages of sleep in 90 minutes Non REM happens in stages 1 4 No eye movements less dreams REM sleep Stage 5 vivid dreams quick eye movements Awake a lot of brain activity when we sleep activity goes down Non REM Sleep Stage 1 Very drowsy transition quickly to stage 2 theta waves Stage 2 Brain waves and heart rate slow down body temperature decreases muscles relax sleep spindles and K complexes Sleep spindles and K complexes are short surges of electrical activity Stages 3 and 4 Large amplitude delta waves become more frequent Alcohol can keep us from deep sleep Non REM Dreams Shorter More thought like Repetitive Concerned with daily tasks REM Sleep Stage of sleep during which The brain is most active Vivid dreaming most often occurs Also called paradoxical sleep REM Dreams More dreams Emotional illogical Prone to plot shifts Biologically crucial Sleep Disorders Widespread and costly problem 35 billion year cost 30 50 of population experiences at some point Most common is insomnia 0 15 of people Difficulty going to staying asleep or early waking High rates with depression pain medical conditions Sleep Hygiene Drugs Psychoactive Drugs substances containing chemicals similar to those found naturally in our brains that alter consciousness by changing chemical process in neurons Abuse Versus Dependence A Fine Line Substance Abuse people qualify for this diagnosis when they experience recurrent problems associated with a drug Substance Dependence a more serious pattern of use leading to clinically significant impairment distress or both Withdrawal Tolerance Physical and psychological dependence Explanations for Drug Use and Abuse Muslims do not let people drink alcohol other drugs Italy loves wine Personality Learning and Expectancies Sociocultural Influences cultures encourage and discourage the use of alcohol and Tension reduction hypothesis for example a glass of red wine after a long day of work will make you feel more calm Genetic Influences Drug and alcohol abuse genetic disorder runs in families Depress the effects of the central nervous system mimicking of GABA Depressants Examples Alcohol Sedative Hypnotics Alcohol behavior Placebo effect Three classes Barbiturates Non barbiturates Benzodiazepines Stimulants blood pressure Include Females experience effects more heavily Research shows that we expect to happen when drinking also plays a role in social Sedative Hypnotics Often prescribed to assist with anxiety or insomnia Benzos like Valium are in most widespread use and can be highly addictive Increase activity in the central nervous system including heart rate respiration and Nicotine Cocaine Amphetamines Sometimes users Everyday users Recreational users Narcotics Include Heroin Morphine Codeine Psychedelics Include LSD Mescaline PCP Marijuana Relieve pain and induce sleep derived from the opium poppy Most abusers are the ones who were prescribed the medication Cause dramatic alterations of perception mood and thought hallucinogenic Ecstasy properties of both psychedelic and stimulant Mimics effect of Dopamine and suppress Serotonin Some classify as a hallucinogen others do not Most frequently used illegal drug in the United States Human Development How and Why We Change Developmental Psychology 02 06 2013 Human Development How and Why We Change The study of how behavior changes over the life span 02 06 2013 Clarifying the Nature Nurture Debate Genes and environment can intersect in complex ways Gene environment interactions Risk of skin cancer if your pale and you spend a lot of time in the sun Nature via nurture When people with certain genetic predisposition seek out economic help Peoples personalities will eventually show who they hang out with and what activities they do Expose yourself to activities that bring out your personalities Gene expression Not all genes turned on at the same time When in particular environment we can turn on those genes Male pattern baldness these gene expression changes the way people look Only turned on when exposed to high levels of testosterone Cognitive Development The study of how children learn think reason communicate and remember Cognitive Landmarks of Early Development Physical reasoning Human Development How and Why We Change Physical reasoning in infants involves Basic apparently innate knowledge Refinement of knowledge based on experience Concepts and Categories How things look How they are used In what contexts they appear Self concept and the concept of other Conceptual development requires children to acquire knowledge of 02 06 2013 Self recognition becomes increasingly sophisticated as children move from understanding they are physically distinct entities to understanding that others have minds distinct from their own Numerical development requires a complex understanding of counting rules and the Theory of mind Numbers and mathematics nature
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