CONSCIOUSNESS OBJECTIVES Define consciousness Consciousness is your awareness of everything that is going on around you and inside your own head at any given moment which you use to organize your behavior What is a normal state of consciousness versus an altered state An altered state of consciousness occurs when there is a shift in the quality or pattern of your mental activity Thoughts may become fuzzy and disorganized and you may feel less alert or your thoughts may take bizarre turns as they do so often in dreams Sometimes being in an altered state of mind may mean being in a state of increased alertness as when under the influence of a stimulant You may also divide your conscious awareness as when you drive to work or school and then wonder how you got there one level of conscious awareness was driving while the other was thinking of the day ahead Daydreaming Being hypnotized Achieving a meditative state Under the influence of drugs What is one definition of attention we discussed How do we know the fate of the unattended material Attention is the internal process people use to set priorities for mental functioning The brain filter out what unattended focuses the attention There is unconscious rest of the does to simply goes on in the message but it spotlight of some monitoring of the environment Lasts a few minutes brain slows breathing more regular heart rate flows easily awakened Lasts about 20 minutes sleep spindles definitely asleep relatively easily awakened Lasts a few minutes transitional stage between light sleep and deep sleep Deep sleep Lasts about 30 40 minutes brain waves change to large slow waves Briefly describe the stages of sleep Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Theta wave activity Delta wave activity Delta wave activity Delta wave activity REM Rapid Eye Movement Lasts few minutes early on Increases during the night Heart rate increases Almost paralyzed Theta and Beta wave activity What is REM sleep What is the difference between nightmares and night terrors See above for REM info Nightmares are bad dreams that occur during REM sleep babies tend to have more nightmares because they spend more time in REM sleep Nightmares are often remembered Night terrors are more likely in children and also likely to disappear as the child grows older A night terror is essentially a state of panic experienced while sound asleep This happens during non REM sleep and people are not able to move around and often cannot remember What happens to people and animals when sleep deprived over extended periods of time Basically what are the effects of sleep deprivation Some typical symptoms of sleep deprivation include trembling hands inattention staring off into space droopy eyelids and general discomfort Compare and contrast the theories of why we dream Think back to the idea of consciousness and awareness What does it say about the relationship between consciousness and awareness if we can remember our dreams Wish Fulfillment Theory Preserve our sanity by allowing us to gratify forbidden or unrealistic wishes Manifest Content The surface content of the dream containing dream symbols Latent Content The true unconscious meaning of a dream Dreaming is the by product of RANDOM stimulation of brain cells Activation Synthesis Hypothesis Creates a fragmented story Information Processing Theory Dreams help us sift through sort and fix in memory our everyday experiences and thoughts A form of thinking during sleep Mental housecleaning If we can remember our dreams then consciousness and awareness are related to one another What are circadian rhythms How are they related to our sleep cycle Circadian rhythms occur on a 24 hour cycle and include sleep and wake cycles They are related to our sleep cycle because we should sleep several hours out of the day The sleep wake cycle is ultimately controlled by our brain specifically the hypothalamus Identify the sleep disorders we discussed and briefly describe the symptoms and effects of each Insomnia Narcolepsy Persistent problems falling or staying asleep Uncontrollable sleep attacks May lapse directly into REM sleep Sleep Apnea Night Terrors Temporary cessations of breathing during the night and momentary reawakening High arousals appearance of being terrified Usually occurs in Stage 4 within 2 3 hours of falling asleep What is hypnosis What are the two theories of hypnosis we discussed Hypnosis is a state of consciousness in which a person is especially susceptible to suggestion Social Influence Theory Imaginative actors playing social role Divided Consciousness Theory Hypnosis is a typical state of dissociated divided consciousness Are there practical uses for hypnosis If so what are they Explain Hypnosis can alleviate pain Hypnosis can be therapeutic Helps people deal with pain anxiety or cravings What is substance abuse Substance abuse is overindulgence in or dependence on an addictive substance especially alcohol or drugs Define withdrawal and tolerance Withdrawal is the unpleasant physical reaction that accompanies the process of ceasing to take an addictive drug Symptoms can range from headaches nausea irritability to severe pain cramping shaking and dangerously elevated blood pressure Drug tolerance develops as the person continues to use the drug and larger doses of the drug are needed to achieve the same initial effects of the drug What are the differences between a stimulant and a depressant Identify examples of each type and explain the effects Stimulants are a class of drugs that cause either the sympathetic division or the central nervous system or both to increase levels of functioning at least temporarily They speed up the nervous system often called uppers Caffeine Increase heart and breathing rate provide energy Nicotine Increase heart and breathing rate provide energy Cocaine Ecstasy Amphetamines Methamphetamine s Depressants slow the central nervous system and have a sedative effect Alcohol Barbiturates Major tranquilizers Opiates How can the workings of consciousness help you to think about alien visitations ghosts or other supernatural events Valid realistic hallucinations that occur in N1 NREM Stage 1 sleep are called hypnogogic hallucinations and are often misinterpreted as ghosts or other supernatural visitations Similar hallucinations that occur when awakening from REM sleep are called hypnopompic hallucinations
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