Psychology Chapter 9: Consciousness
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Questions and Answers

Why did early psychologists abandon the study of consciousness?

Early psychologists abandoned the study of consciousness because the methods available at the time were inadequate to study a phenomenon like the human mind.

What are some methods of presenting a stimulus while preventing conscious perception of it?

Some methods include Masking, Flash suppression, and Binocular rivalry.

The brain processes some information consciously.

False

Which of the following methods is a procedure of preceding or following a stimulus with an interfering pattern to prevent consciousness of the stimulus?

<p>Masking</p> Signup and view all the answers

Describe the process by which a stimulus is consciously perceived.

<p>When a stimulus is consciously perceived, it activates neurons more strongly, the activity reverberates through other brain areas, the activity rebounds to magnify the original response, and the process inhibits responses to competing stimuli.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Unconscious processes are an important part of cognition.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

Consciousness of a stimulus appears to be a gradual process.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

Conscious experience of a stimulus occurs simultaneously with the stimulus itself.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a state in which someone has brief periods of purposeful actions and speech comprehension?

<p>Minimally conscious state</p> Signup and view all the answers

Brain scans can provide suggestions of consciousness in certain patients who seem unresponsive to their environment.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

When people report the time of a conscious decision to make a movement, brain scans indicate the brain activity responsible for the movement began at the same time as the reported decision.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

Research suggests that people can accurately report their decision times.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

Voluntary decisions are gradual, not sudden.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a possible function of conscious thought?

<p>One possible function of conscious thought is to prepare for future action when a similar situation arises.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the rhythm of activity and inactivity lasting approximately one day called?

<p>Circadian Rhythm.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Sunlight generates our circadian rhythm.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

What controls more than sleeping and waking?

<p>Circadian rhythm.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Most young adults are morning people.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

People travelling east experience more severe jetlag than those travelling west.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the graveyard shift and why is it called this?

<p>The graveyard shift is a night shift typically from 4 p.m. to midnight. The name reflects the observation that industrial accidents usually occur during night shifts, likely due to workers' lower alertness at this time.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What area of the brain generates the 24-hour rhythm?

<p>The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) located in the hypothalamus.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Sunlight generates the 24-hour rhythm within the suprachiasmatic nucleus.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

What hormone secretions are regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus?

<p>The suprachiasmatic nucleus regulates the secretions of melatonin by the pineal gland.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are some of the functions of sleep?

<p>Sleep serves several functions: conservation of energy, memory consolidation, strengthening learning, and restoring physical and mental resources.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Sleep deprivation can affect attention.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is REM sleep characterized by?

<p>REM sleep is characterized by rapid eye movements, high brain activity, and deep relaxation of the postural muscles.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Dreams only occur during REM sleep.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is insomnia?

<p>Insomnia is the condition of not getting enough sleep to feel rested the next day.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are some causes of insomnia?

<p>Insomnia can be caused by factors such as noise, worries, indigestion, uncomfortable temperatures, use of alcohol or caffeine, and underlying medical or psychological disorders.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is sleep apnea?

<p>Sleep apnea is a condition where someone fails to breathe for at least a minute or more during sleep, waking up gasping for air.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Sleep apnea is most common in overweight middle-aged women.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is narcolepsy?

<p>Narcolepsy is a condition in which a person experiences sudden attacks of daytime sleepiness.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is periodic limb movement disorder characterized by?

<p>Periodic limb movement disorder is marked by unpleasant sensations in the legs and repetitive leg movements that can be strong enough to interrupt sleep.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a night terror?

<p>A night terror is a condition that causes a person to awaken screaming and sweating, often with a fast heart rate, and sometimes flailing their arms.</p> Signup and view all the answers

More dreams are pleasant than threatening.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

Dreams are always about our daily experiences.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

Blind people never dream.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to Freud's theory of dreams, what is the manifest content?

<p>According to Freud, the manifest content is the surface-level content of a dream that is remembered upon waking.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is latent content in Freud's theory of dreams?

<p>In Freud's theory, the latent content refers to the hidden symbolic meanings and desires underlying a dream's manifest content.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the activation-synthesis theory of dreams?

<p>The activation-synthesis theory of dreams proposes that dreams arise from the brain's attempt to make sense of random neural activity that occurs during REM sleep.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the neurocognitive theory of dreams?

<p>The neurocognitive theory of dreams suggests that dreaming is similar to daydreaming or mind wandering, occurring under specific conditions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are some of the conditions associated with the neurocognitive theory of dreams?

<p>The neurocognitive theory of dreams proposes that dreaming occurs under conditions of reduced sensory stimulation, decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex (important for planning and working memory), reduced voluntary control of thinking, and increased activity in other brain areas.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is hypnosis?

<p>Hypnosis is a state of heightened suggestibility and focused attention that occurs within a special relationship between the hypnotist and the subject.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Hypnosis is the same as being asleep.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

How is hypnosis induced?

<p>Hypnosis is induced through a process of repeated suggestions and relaxation techniques, often accompanied by guided imagery or focal points like a swinging pendulum.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Hypnosis can be used to give people special strength or unusual powers.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

Hypnosis can enhance memory accuracy.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a posthypnotic suggestion?

<p>A posthypnotic suggestion is a suggestion given during hypnosis that the subject carries out after coming out of hypnosis.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Hypnosis is greatly different from normal wakefulness.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

People who pretend to be hypnotized can mimic the effects of actual hypnosis.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is meditation?

<p>Meditation is a systematic procedure for inducing a calm, relaxed state through the use of specific techniques.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Meditation can increase anxiety.

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a deja vu experience?

<p>A deja vu experience is a feeling of uncanny familiarity, as if you have already lived through an event or situation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Course Information

  • Subject: Introduction to Psychology
  • Subject Code: FAMG 1023
  • Lecturer: Atiqah Jani (K.B., P.A.)
  • Faculty: Centre for Foundation, Languages & General Studies

Chapter 9: Consciousness

Learning Outcomes

  • Explain why early psychologists abandoned the study of consciousness and why current research is possible.
  • List methods used to present stimuli while preventing conscious perception.
  • Describe how consciously perceived stimuli activate brain areas differently from stimuli not consciously perceived.
  • Provide evidence of unconscious brain processing.
  • Discuss cases where individuals in a vegetative state showed evidence of consciousness.
  • Describe and evaluate evidence showing brain activity for a movement begins before the conscious decision to act.

Measuring Consciousness

  • Operational definition: If a person consciously perceives one stimulus and not another, they were conscious of the first stimulus and not the second.
  • Methods of measuring brain activity:
    • Masking: Presenting a stimulus with an interfering pattern to prevent consciousness.
    • Flash suppression: Blocking consciousness of a stationary stimulus by surrounding it with rapidly flashing items.
    • Binocular rivalry: Alternation between seeing a pattern in the left retina and the pattern in the right retina.
  • Limited research questions.

Brain Activity, Conscious or Unconscious

  • Conscious stimulus activation causes stronger neural activity that reverberates through brain areas.
  • This magnified activity inhibits responses to competing stimuli.

Unconscious Processing of a Suppressed Stimulus

  • The brain processes stimuli without consciousness, evaluating their importance.
  • Unconscious processes are vital for cognition.

Consciousness as an All-or-None Phenomenon

  • Consciousness appears as an all-or-none process.
  • Either brain activity spreads strongly or not.

Consciousness as a Construction

  • Conscious experience of a stimulus occurs slightly after the stimulus, not simultaneously.

Can We Use Brain Measurements to Infer Consciousness?

  • Physicians define different gradations of brain activity, linking them to arousal, responsiveness, and consciousness.
    • Brain death: Absence of brain activity and response.
    • Coma: Steady, low-level brain activity with no response.
    • Vegetative state: Limited responsiveness to stimuli.
    • Minimally conscious state: Brief purposeful actions and speech comprehension.
  • Brain scans can suggest consciousness in unresponsive patients.

Consciousness and Action

  • Brain scans reveal brain activity responsible for movement begins before the reported conscious decision time.

How Well Can We Measure the Time of a Conscious Decision?

  • Research challenges the accuracy of self-reported decision times.
  • Voluntary decisions are gradual, not sudden.

What Is the Purpose of Consciousness?

  • A possible function of consciousness is preparing for future actions in similar situations.

Sleep and Dreams

Circadian Rhythms

  • Circadian rhythm: A 24-hour cycle of activity and inactivity regulated by the body.
  • The rising and setting of the sun reset the circadian rhythm.
  • Circadian rhythms control more than just sleep/wake cycles (e.g., hunger, thirst, alertness, body temperature).
  • Circadian rhythms vary between people (morning and evening types).

Morning People and Evening People

  • Some people quickly reach their peak alertness early in the day, while others do so later.
  • Most young adults are evening or intermediate types; most over 65 are morning types.
  • People generally adjust more easily to traveling west than east.
  • Graveyard shifts are harder to adjust to.

Brain Mechanisms of Circadian Rhythms

  • The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain is responsible for generating the circadian rhythm.
  • Sunlight partially resets the circadian rhythm.
  • The SCN regulates melatonin secretion (by the pineal gland) which impacts the circadian rhythm.

Why We Sleep

  • Sleep conserves energy and facilitates learning and memory.
  • Sleep-deprived people struggle with attention.

Stages of Sleep

  • Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep: Characterized by rapid eye movements, high brain activity, and deep muscle relaxation. Dreams are common during this stage, though not limited to it.

Insomnia

  • Insomnia: Difficulty sleeping enough to feel rested.
  • Insomnia is caused by various factors including noise, worries, indigestion, uncomfortable temperatures, alcohol/caffeine use or medical/psychological disorders.

Sleep Apnea/Narcolepsy

  • Sleep apnea: Condition where breathing stops for a minute or more during sleep causing the sufferer to wake up gasping for breath. This is common in overweight middle-aged men with narrow breathing passages.
  • Narcolepsy: Condition marked by sudden attacks of sleepiness during the day.

Some Other Sleep Experiences

  • Sleep talking: Talking during sleep.
  • Sleepwalking: Walking during sleep.
  • Lucid dreaming: Awareness of dreaming while dreaming.
  • Periodic limb movement disorder: Unpleasant sensations and repetitive leg movements during sleep causing interruptions.
  • Night terrors: Frightening experiences that wake someone up; characterized by screaming, sweating, racing heart, and flailing.

Descriptive Studies of Dreaming

  • Most dreams are more threatening than pleasant.
  • Dreams often relate to everyday thoughts and experiences; not all experiences are dreamt about.
  • Vision loss (or acquisition) may influence dream experience.

Freud's Theory of Dreams

  • Manifest content: The surface-level content of a dream.
  • Latent content: The hidden, symbolic meaning behind a dream.

Modern Theories of Dreaming

  • Activation-synthesis theory: Dreams arise from random brain activity during REM sleep.
  • Neurocognitive theory: Dreams are a type of thinking under special conditions. (Reduced sensory stimuli, prefrontal cortex activity, and enough activity in other brain areas).

Hypnosis

  • Hypnosis: State of focused attention and increased suggestibility within a special hypnotist-subject relationship.

Ways of Inducing Hypnosis

  • Hypnotists use suggestions and rely on the hypnotized person's cooperation and willingness to accept suggestions.

Uses and Limitations of Hypnosis

  • Hypnosis can: Inhibit pain, facilitate posthypnotic suggestions, and sometimes help break unwanted habits.
  • Hypnosis cannot: Provide special strengths, enhance memory accuracy, or reliably result in improved memories. Memories reported under hypnosis might include a blend of correct and incorrect information.

Is Hypnosis an Altered State of Consciousness?

  • Hypnosis is similar to normal wakefulness but distinct as people can pretend to be hypnotized.

Other States of Consciousness

  • Meditation: Systematic procedure for inducing a calm, relaxed state characterized by reduced anxiety and enhanced attention.
  • Déjà vu: Feeling that an event is familiar, which in some cases may correlate with abnormal brain activity in memory areas.

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UOC FAMG 1023 Introduction to Psychology PDF

Description

Explore the fascinating topic of consciousness in this quiz based on Chapter 9 of Introduction to Psychology. You'll learn about the evolution of psychological research on consciousness, methods to study stimuli perception, and evidence of unconscious brain processing. Test your knowledge on the complexities of conscious and unconscious experiences.

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