Consciousness is…Conscious vs. Unconscious Activity: The Dual-Track MindThink before you act?Slide 4Slide 5Slide 6Sleep as a State of ConsciousnessDaily Rhythms and SleepSlide 9Sleep Stages and Sleep Cycles: What is Measured?Consciousness is…alertness; being awake vs. being unconsciousself-awareness; the ability to think about selfhaving free will; being able to make a “conscious” decisiona person’s mental content, thoughts, and imaginings“our awareness of ourselves and our environment”Conscious vs. Unconscious Activity: The Dual-Track MindConscious “high” trackdeliberate actions we know we are doingUse of attention and effort (slower) Examples: problem solvingUnconscious “low” track perform automatic actions, often without being aware of themEffortless/little attention (faster)Examples: walkingThink before you act?Why Have Two Tracks?Possible benefit: not having to think about everything we do all at onceExamples You can speak without having to think about the definitions of each word.Case StudyA woman with brain damage, but NO eye damage, was unable to use her eyes to report what was in front of her.BUT, she was able to use her eyes to help her take actions such as putting mail in slots.What are the two mental “tracks” in this case?BlindsightJudging size and distance well enough to put the mail in the slot: the “low road,” or unconscious, automatic track, in this case known Describing the mail and the slot:the “high road,” or conscious track, in this case known as the visual perception taskLimit to how much we can pay attention to simultaneously. our brain is able to choose a focus and select what to noticeExample: Cocktail Party EffectSelective AttentionSelective inattentionrefers to our failure to notice part of our environment when our attention is directed elsewhere.Selective Inattention:what we are not focused on, what we do not noticeClassSelective Attention: what we focus on,What we noticeDownload musicHow Do We Learn About Sleep and Dreams?We can monitor EEG/brain waves and muscle movements during sleep.We can expose the sleeping person to noise and words, and then examine the effects on the brain (waves) and mind (memory).We can wake people and see which mental state (e.g. dreaming) goes with which brain/body state.Sleep as a State of ConsciousnessWhen sleeping, are we fully unconscious and “dead to the world”?Or is the window to consciousness open?Daily Rhythms and SleepThe circadian rhythm refers to the body’s natural 24-hour cycle roughly matched to the day/night cycle of light and dark.What changes during the 24 hours?body temperature arousal/energy mental sharpnesshormones“Larks” and “Owls”Daily rhythms vary from person to person and with age.General peaks in alertness: evening peak -20 year old “owls”Morning peak- 50 years old “larks”•Regulated by the brain’s Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)•Pineal gland – secrete melatonin (relaxing hormone) •Active during daytime, inactive at night•Environmental cues (Light) keep SCN on 24 hour schedule (Free running circadian rhythm = 24.2 hours)•Hard to shift (Jet-lag, night shift)Circadian RhythmsSleep Stages and Sleep Cycles: What is
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