PSY 301 1st Edition Lecture 20 Outline of Last Lecture I Operant Conditioning II Reinforcement III Positive Reinforcement IV Negative Reinforcement V Punishment VI Extinction VII Biological Constraints Outline of Current Lecture I Consciousness II Neural aspects of consciousness III Limited Processing Capacity IV Attention V Circadian Rhythm VI REM sleep VII Sleep Disorders VIII Stimulants and Hallucinogens Current Lecture Consciousness a person s subjective experience of the world and the mind Phenomenology how things seem to the conscious person Problem of other minds the fundamental difficulty we have in perceiving the consciousness of others Mind body problem the issue of how the mind is related to the brain and the body Brain s activities may precede conscious activity Consciousness has four basic properties Intentionality being directed toward an object Unity resistance to division Divided attention Selectivity the capacity to include some objects but not others Selective attention Transience the tendency to change Forms of Consciousness cognitive unconscious the mental support processes outside of our awareness that make our perception memory and thinking possible unconscious inference creates the experience of consciousness Neural aspects of consciousness 1 No one center of consciousness a different parts of the brain are involved in different kinds of awareness 2 relies on brain areas involved in interpreting and integrating information a some sites control the level of alertness or sensitivity independent of what the person is alert or sensitive to most likely the thalamus or the RAS b different cortical areas deal with different kinds of content of consciousness 3 global workspace hypothesis specialized neurons workspace neurons gives rise to consciousness by linking stimuli or ideas in dynamic coherent representations Things outside of our awareness may be 1 nonconscious 2 preconscious 3 unconscious a Freud s unconscious an active system of hidden memories and deep instincts desires b Modern unconscious mental processes involved in thinking emotions behavior that are not experienced Attention the process of separating the conscious from the preconscious 1 Selective attention paying attention to one thing Inattentional blindness not seeing an object or a person in our midst Change blindness not noticing a change in a situation we are involved in Two thirds of the people giving directions failed to notice a change in the person asking for directions 2 Divided attention splitting attention between two things Limited Processing Capacity allocating attention among several things 1 Automatic Processing does not require attention 2 Controlled Processing requires attention Altered state of consciousness forms of experience that depart from the normal subjective experience of the world and the mind 1 sleep 2 hypnosis 3 meditation 4 drugs Sleep and waking are controlled by circadian rhythms Circadian rhythm a naturally occurring 24 hour cycle Circadian rhythm a naturally occurring 24 hour cycle that controls many biological processes including sleep and waking 1 Light triggers the suprachiasmatic nucleus to decrease melatonin from the pineal gland the absence of light increases melatonin at nightfall Measuring sleep About every 90 minutes we pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages EEG patterns during the stages of sleep Sleep Cycle Initial 1 2 3 4 3 2 1 REM 2 3 4 3 2 1 REM After 4 hours 2 3 2 1 REM 2 1 Rem 2 1 REM 1 Stages III and IV are both forms of deep wave sleep delta waves Some people argue they are really one stage Stage IV sleep involves 1 body functions slow down to their lowest levels 2 difficult to wake disoriented 3 sleep walking talking bed wetting night terrors 4 growth 5 deep muscle rest REM Sleep Rapid Eye movement Paradoxical sleep 1 rapid eye movements 2 waking brain waves 3 muscle paralysis Stage of sleep in which we dream 1 REM periods gradually increasing in length a final REM period of the night lasts up to 45 min 2 everyone has 4 5 rem cycles in a normal night s sleep 3 amount of sleep needed varies across the lifespan and with the individual a Infants 16 hours a day half in REM b older children much less sleep less time in REM more time in slow wave sleep c Adolescents average 8 hours 2 in REM a sleep cycle is pushed later in the day d Seniors average 6 hours night 1 hour in REM 4 REM is associated with right hemisphere activity 5 Dreams activate brain areas involved in emotion and visual imagery but not the prefrontal cortex planning 6 REM sleep is essential to learning 7 more REM during times of stress high emotion or many new experiences 8 REM rebound more REM after REM deprivation REM is the stage of sleep in which we dream 1 have NREM dreams but fewer qualitatively different 2 REM dreams intense emotion illogical thought meaningful sensation uncritical acceptance difficulty remembering 3 events in dreams last as long as in life 4 some themes of dreams are universal i Negative Emotional Content ii Failure Dreams 5 some themes are personal consistent across the lifespan Explanation for REM dreams Freudian Theory 1 threatening wishes and thoughts are deeply 2 during sleep the defenses get weaker 3 repressed material begins to surface 4 The material is so threatening that it must be a manifest content the actual dream b latent content the underlying meaning of the dream repressed disguised psychological Activation synthesis model dreams are produced when the brain attempts to make sense of activations that occur randomly during sleep Information processing dreams help us to process the events of the day and consolidate our memories Theories of why we sleep 1 Sleep keeps us out of danger at night 2 Sleep restores and repairs brain tissue 3 Sleep restores and rebuilds memories 4 Sleep plays a role in the growth process Sleep disorders 1 Insomnia difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep 2 Sleep apnea the person stops breathing for brief periods while asleep 3 Somnambulism sleepwalking occurs when the person arises and walks around during sleep 4 Narcolepsy sudden sleep attacks occur in the middle of waking activities 5 Sleep paralysis the experience of waking up unable to move 6 Night terrors sleep terrors abrupt awakenings with panic and intense emotional arousal Sleep deprivation 1 minor a decline in visual motor tasks b cognitive emotional and physical problems c loss of sustained attention d higher cortisol levels e lesser ability to
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